


口付け – Kuchizuke

by hereruha



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Cheating, Demons, Drama, F/M, M/M, Romance, Shapeshifter, Smut, Supernatural - Freeform, Witchcraft, Witches, Yaoi, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:42:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6134098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereruha/pseuds/hereruha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The coven has existed for more than half a century now, the high priestess taking care of the witches as if they were her children. One particularity of this coven is that each witch has a seal, blocking something inside of them, a part of them that is described as dangerous by the high priestess and the elders. No one dares stand up to her, thus no one from the last two generations knows what this is all about.<br/>However, Takanori can't stop thinking about his seal, firmly believing that if he broke it, he would finally manage to fit totally in the coven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“What are you thinking about?”

The brunet opened his eyes as he heard a voice coming from behind. An arm wrapped around his waist and he soon felt a naked body pressed against his back, the hot breath of the other in his neck making him shiver.

He just hummed in response, not really sure whether he should tell his boyfriend about it or not. He sighed in pleasure as he felt his lover’s lips trail down his neck to his shoulder, laying soft kisses on his naked skin.

“I’ve been thinking about our seals.” the brunet finally whispered.

He felt the other tense up and slowly pull away from him. He sighed and turned around to face his lover. His long honey blond locks were spread over the pillow, a few strands over his face. His hazel eyes were set on the ceiling. His face expression was unreadable, but the brunet knew the other didn’t like what he just had said. The cover barely reached their waists so he could see how all the honey blond’s muscles were tensed.

“Kou, don’t react like this.” he said, softly stroking his boyfriend’s cheek with his right hand.

The honey blond didn’t reply, his eyes still not leaving the ceiling. The brunet sighed before sliding over his lover, straddling him as he sat on him, keeping him down by placing his hands on his chest to support himself as he leaned down to peck him on the lips.

“I’m sorry, I’m just curious.” he whispered, nuzzling his nose in the crook of the other’s neck.

He felt a hand on his head, stroking his hair.

“I know you want magic, Taka, but this… It’s forbidden.” finally said the honey blond.

“Wouldn’t I be more useful though if I had magic?” asked the brunet, locking eyes with his boyfriend.

“Don’t think about it, we all love you, with or without magic.” whispered the other, bringing the brunet closer to kiss him.

“I’m _dead_ , Kouyou.” groaned the brunet, looking away, blinking repeatedly to make the tears that were gathering in his eyes disappear.

“ _Takanori._ ” growled the honey blond, his eyes darkening.

The small man bit his lower lip, knowing he had gone too far. Kouyou never liked it when he said he was dead, although that was the right term. Everybody used it to describe witches who, like him, were born without magic, or at least, didn’t have magic after a part of them was sealed.

“Sorry.” he mumbled, moving off his boyfriend to lie back on his side of the bed.

He turned his back to the honey blond and closed his eyes again. Was it that bad that he wanted to feel just once how it was to have magic running through his veins?

Kouyou couldn’t understand how it felt like to be a dead witch, he couldn’t even possibly imagine it. The honey blond had always had magic, he had grown up with it. The brunet however had ended up being dead, as they said. He knew that he had magic though, but it was sealed. No one in the coven knew why the high priestess and the elders had made this obligatory, none of them knew what it hid. The high priestess was old, too old for any of them to stand up to her. Although she looked like she was in her thirties, it was common knowledge that she was over a hundred years old. She was powerful and always had the last word, it was unnecessary to create some trivial quarrels, unless you wanted to get thrown out of the coven. Even the elders didn’t dare contradict her.

“Taka… I know you feel like an outcast, but you’re not. Again today you were praised by the high priestess, isn’t that enough?” asked Kouyou, propping himself up on his elbows.

“You don’t get it, do you?” groaned Takanori, getting up to grab his clothes, which were scattered around the bedroom.

“What do you mean?”

The brunet shook his head as he put his clothes on.

“Didn’t you want to go for another round?” frowned the honey blond.

“Go find yourself one of the coven’s whores you fuck when I’m not around, I’m not in the mood anymore.” sighed Takanori before walking out of the room.

When the door was closed, he slapped his forehead as he noticed what he had just said. He wasn’t supposed to say that he was aware of Kouyou sleeping around, he had convinced himself that it was better to keep it for himself.

Everybody thought they were the perfect couple, though they were just teenagers, but they were wrong. Takanori had once wanted to visit his boyfriend, as he usually did in the evening when they hadn’t spent the day together, but that night he had heard the honey blond talking with his mother. Eavesdropping was wrong and despicable, he knew it, but because he had heard his name, he had continued listening. The woman pretended to like Takanori because she was friend with his mother, but she actually despised him and considered him as unworthy of her son. That evening, she was trying to convince Kouyou to break up with the brunet so he would finally date a girl, one that had magic and could give him a child. At the time, Takanori wasn’t sure whether he should have cried or laughed. The honey blond was eighteen, did the woman really think Kouyou had in mind to have kids? However, what she had said about magic had made him feel even worse about his state than before, making him think about breaking his seal.

He walked outside of the coven’s domain and ventured into the forest. Mothers always told their children not to go in there because of monsters, but the brunet knew those were just lies, they were saying that just so the children would stay in the domain under someone’s watch. It was indeed hard to keep an eye on someone in the forest, especially that this one was quite dense, even the sunlight barely pierced through the thick layer of leaves.

Takanori didn’t need anything to help him find his way though, he was so used to using this path that he knew where every root, tree, bush and everything else was. He soon reached the clearing he had discovered two years ago, when then, he had actually got lost in the forest.

He groaned when he noticed someone already there, standing right in the middle, looking up at the night sky. If the brunet thought he would get some peace of mind, he was very wrong.

“Who are you?” he asked, warily approaching the man.

The raven turned around to face the brunet, a smirk stretching his peach-coloured plump lips. Takanori slightly frowned, not sure what to think about the other. He felt familiar, but the brunet couldn’t put a name on his face. He had the feeling something was preventing him from remembering, though that wasn’t logical, as magic normally didn’t affect him at all.

“Takanori?”

He cocked an eyebrow as he heard his name. At the same time he noticed that the smirk had disappeared from the other’s lips, leaving place to a sad smile.

“How do you know my name?” asked the brunet, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“You don’t remember me? It’s been six years but I never thought you would forget me.” said the raven-haired man, scratching the back of his neck, seemingly feeling uneasy.

“I feel like I know you, but I can’t remember from where.” replied the small man.

“Does the name _‘Shiroyama Yuu’_ ring a bell?”

Takanori blinked a few times, confused. Shiroyama Yuu, from what he remembered, had been like a big brother to him, but the boy had disappeared one day without a word. When Takanori had asked about him back then, people would just tell him to stop speaking about Yuu, which he had done in the end.

“Yes, of course it does.” he said, shifting from one foot to another.

“Can you remember how he looked like?”

The brunet closed his eyes, trying to picture Yuu, but nothing came. His mind was blank, it seemed like his memories had been wiped away.

“No, I can’t.”

“How did they manage to erase your memory when you’re a dead witch?” frowned the raven.

Takanori didn’t answer anything, wondering about it himself. That he couldn’t remember a damn thing about the boy who had been so important in his childhood confused him, and made him suspicious. What had the high priestess done with his brain? He _should_ have remembered, magic _didn’t_ work on him normally.

“Do you know what happened to him then?”

“No, people just told me he had to leave.” replied the brunet, sitting on the ground, sighing as he did so.

“Hm… From what I hear, they still manipulate kids as if they were puppets.” sighed the raven, his eyes not leaving Takanori.

“What are you talking about?”

The raven didn’t reply. Instead he just walked to the brunet and crouched before him, the sad smile from before still hadn’t left his lips.

“Close your eyes.”

Takanori slowly did what he was asked, although not without hesitation first. If there weren’t that familiar feeling, he definitely wouldn’t have done it.

He startled a little as he felt a hand on his forehead. The raven-haired man was whispering something in another language, and the brunet knew that was a spell, this language being the ancient one used in the grimoires they had in their coven’s library. But what was the raven trying to do? He knew Takanori was a dead witch, thus not affected by spells at all, so what was his goal?

The brunet’s eyes snapped open as a flow of memories went through his mind, making him gasp. He stared at the raven, his vision slowly getting blurry as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Yuu…?” he whispered, not quite believing what was happening.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Taka.” smiled the raven, taking his hand away from the other’s forehead.

The brunet didn’t even think twice as he threw himself in the other’s arms, clutching at him as if he feared the other would disappear once again. He felt Yuu’s arms surrounding him, bringing him closer to him, tightening their embrace.

Takanori could have stayed this way forever, but there was still something bothering him. He slowly pulled away from the raven and locked eyes with him.

“Why did you leave the coven?” he asked.

“I didn’t leave it.” frowned the other.

“ _What?_ ”

“I was thrown out.”

The teenager needed a few minutes to let the information sink in, and once it did, he realised it actually made sense. If Yuu had left on his own decision, he would have told Takanori beforehand, he wouldn’t have left the brunet behind like that.

“Why?”

The raven looked away, biting at his lower lip. The smaller man frowned, not knowing what to think about the other’s reaction. This wasn’t like him, sure he had always been shy, but never had he looked conflicted like right now.

Yuu heaved a sigh before finally answering.

“I broke my seal.”

Takanori’s eyes widened, shocked by what he heard. So that was what happened to witches who broke their seals? They were expelled from the coven? Did Kouyou know it? Did he know what had happened to Yuu? He most likely did, Takanori always had the feeling he was the one from whom something was kept secret, he always had the feeling he was the one being kept aside. He was quite sure that was because of his lack of magic. If he had been normal, everything would have been different, but well… Nature didn’t seem to want to work that way when it came to him.

“How does it feel?” the brunet asked.

“To break your seal?”

He nodded.

“Honestly, it feels amazing.” the raven replied, smiling widely now.

“Why?”

“Once I broke my seal, I felt like I was finally complete, that what had always been missing was back in its place.”

Takanori hummed, looking up at the cloudless sky. He wished he had the courage to break his own seal, but somehow, he still cared about the coven. That place still felt like home, even though he sometimes felt like a pariah. As Kouyou had said it earlier that night, even though he didn’t have magic, the high priestess took care of him the same way she did with all the others.

The brunet was about to talk when he heard his name being called out. He sprung to his feet, looking around.

“Of course he had to tell someone I went out.” he muttered, fisting his hands.

“Who are you talking about?” asked the raven.

“Kouyou.” the brunet groaned. “He doesn’t have time to look for me, being too occupied screwing those whores, so he sends someone else to do it.”

“Are you two together?” asked Yuu, surprised.

“It doesn’t matter. You need to go, I don’t think they would react positively if they saw you.”

“Alright, I’m leaving.” laughed the raven. “I wasn’t supposed to stay this long anyway.”

Takanori smiled at him and hugged him quickly.

“Will you come tomorrow night too?”

Yuu looked down at the small man, the smile the other was offering him warming his heart. The raven had seen from the very beginning some sort of distraught in the brunet, but this smile was sincere, which slightly reassured him. He was quite sure Takanori was slowly feeling outcasted for his lack of magic, he could perfectly remember how his own sister had been years ago at the same age. He also perfectly recalled what she had done in the end, and the raven didn’t want to lose someone else.

“I’ll be there, waiting for you.” he said, hugging the small man one last time before disappearing into thin air.

Takanori watched Yuu disappear before turning around, heading to where the voice came from. He didn’t want anyone to find his secret place so he had to make it quick before the other would reach the clearing.

“I’m here.” he said after a few minutes, now sure he was far enough from the clearing.

He heard some rustle before he was momentarily blinded by light, making him groan in discomfort. Who was this idiot? Couldn’t he use spells correctly or what?

“Finally! I thought something had happened to you.”

He blinked a few times before he could make out the person before him. He sighed heavily as he recognised Hiroto, mostly thanks to his bleached-blond hair. The boy was seventeen, just like Takanori, but he looked like a kid, his facial features showing pure innocence, though underneath he was a real little devil. Takanori sighed and followed the blond to get out of the forest, feeling like he hadn’t had enough time for himself yet. Why was Kouyou so possessive again? Because it was because of his possessiveness that he sent someone, not because he was worried, Takanori knew it. The honey blond feared that the brunet would go out and sleep around with random people, though _he_ was the one doing that, but there was no point in arguing.

_Crack_

The brunet stiffened, stopping in his tracks, as he heard a sound, and looked around.

“What are you doing, Takanori?”

He stared at Hiroto, confused. Hadn’t the blond heard it? It had been quite loud, there was no way the blond couldn’t have heard it.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, looking around.

“Hear what?”

The brunet looked puzzled. What was going on? Was Hiroto playing a trick on him? If he was, he was _dead_ by the time they reached the coven. He followed the blond, looking warily around, but there was no more noise besides their footsteps.

They soon reached the gates of the coven’s domain and walked in, Takanori looking behind him to see nothing but darkness. Had he just imagined that sound? But it sounded so clear, and close moreover.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Maybe he just needed to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 口付け (kuchizuke) means 'kiss' in Japanese, but well... It might not actually be linked to the fic in itself. I chose this title because of the song by BUCK-TICK, to which I actually was listening when I got the idea for this fanfiction. Moreover the lyrics might have some meaning in the end, who knows.
> 
> I know I should use wizard or sorcerer for Takanori etc. as they are males, but I like the word 'witch' way too much and the coven is actually mostly made off women so... Yeah. I'll just stick to witch.
> 
> One last thing, what did you think the 'crack' was?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

Something nudging his left thigh slowly made the brunet stir from sleep, mumbling incomprehensible words at the same time. He opened his eyes, noticing from the corner of the eye that it was still nighttime. He groaned as he felt hands massaging his inner thighs, slowly moving up. He looked down to discover Kouyou, the honey blond had a satisfied grin stretching his bow-shaped lips.

“What are you doing here?” groaned Takanori.

He wasn’t able to stop a moan from escaping his lips when he felt one of his boyfriend’s hands slide in his boxers, grabbing him firmly.

“Do you need to ask?” smirked the honey blond, taking off his own pants as he started stroking the brunet.

“Didn’t you have enough with one of those sluts?” growled Takanori, trying to move away.

“I don’t know how you discovered it, but I didn’t go to anyone after you left.” sighed Kouyou, hovering over the smaller man to kiss him deeply.

The brunet wanted to protest, but he was slowly losing all his strength. He knew he was too weak when it came to the honey blond, and somehow he hated himself for being so in love with the other when he perfectly knew that he cheated on him.

He parted his lips as he felt Kouyou’s tongue licking his lower lip, asking for access. He groaned in displeasure when he felt the honey blond’s hand leave his now fully erected member to tug his underwear down, throwing it away somewhere in the room.

“I hate you.” groaned the brunet when his lover left his lips to kiss and nip at his neck, his hands roaming all over his body.

Takanori tilted his head back, closing his eyes.

“It doesn’t sound very persuading.” chuckled the honey blond.

The brunet huffed in response, although he knew his boyfriend was right. He could say it as much as he wanted, he was way too deeply in love with the other man to actually hate him.

“Why didn’t you go after me then?” he asked, trying to silence his moans with one hand, the other one tangled in his boyfriend’s long honey-blond locks.

“My mother came by.” he replied, moving down to lick at one of the brunet’s nipples.

“Of course.” groaned Takanori, rolling his eyes.

“It’s the truth.” retorted the honey blond.

His hand wasn’t enough anymore to muffle his moans as he felt Kouyou’s slick tongue play with one nipple while he pinched the other so hard the brunet couldn’t keep himself from slightly yelping. He yanked at the honey blond’s hair, making him move away from his torso, and he rolled them over so he was the one on top now. He could feel their erections rubbing against each other, sending waves of heat through the brunet’s whole body. He kissed his lover roughly, not minding their teeth scraping at each other’s lips. He kissed his way down to the honey blond’s neck, sucking on his skin, leaving some deep purple bruises on the other’s usually flawless porcelain white skin. He couldn’t stop himself from marking Kouyou, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this man wasn’t his only. One way or another, he needed to show those whores who the honey blond truly belonged to. He moved down some more, his hands reaching down to grasp the other’s cock. He heard some sort of eager gasp as he started stroking him, moving down even more to finally lick at the tip of his lover’s member.

Takanori smirked a little, perfectly knowing what Kouyou wanted. He opened his mouth, looking up to see how the honey blond’s eyes were filled with lust and want. He shook his head and moved away, sliding off the bed. He looked around, trying to spot his boxers, but the moonlight barely lit the room so he couldn’t see that well.

The brunet couldn’t pleasure the other just like that, not after how he had reacted. The honey blond didn’t seem to care about his boyfriend knowing what he had been hiding for… How long actually? When did Kouyou begin cheating on Takanori? In a way, the brunet didn’t want to know, it would certainly hurt even more to know more details.

A yelp escaped his lips as he was harshly yanked by the arm and thrown on the bed, face buried in the pillows.

“You seriously think I’m going to let you go like that?” growled Kouyou in his ear before biting it.

“I don’t want any of this.” spat the brunet.

“Yeah, sure, that’s why you’re fucking hard.”

He gripped the sheets underneath him when he felt the honey blond’s hands on his hips, lifting him up. He actually really didn’t want this, there was something about his boyfriend that was wrong, the way he behaved was wrong, he usually didn’t have such a cold and disdainful behaviour. He actually hadn’t even seen one ounce of love in Kouyou’s eyes, just lust.

A muffled scream escaped his lips as he felt the honey blond thrust into him. He buried his face even more in the pillows, not wanting Kouyou to hear him. His lover didn’t seem to care anyway, too busy in getting his own pleasure.

“Come on, don’t tell me you don’t like it.”

His neck snapped as he was yanked by the hair to be on all fours. Takanori whimpered softly as he grabbed the wooden headboard, feeling like he wouldn’t be able to stay in that position if he didn’t have something steady to grip.

“No matter how many times we do it, you’re still so fucking tight.” groaned the honey blond, thrusting more forcefully into the other.

Without even noticing it, Takanori started meeting Kouyou’s thrusts, moving back, asking for more, his moans filling the room with the honey blond’s groans. Tears were rolling down his face, from pleasure or pain though, he didn’t know. He just couldn’t keep quiet.

“Kou– _Aaaah_. There!” he moaned, his back arching into the other’s particularly deep thrust.

His head spinning from pleasure, he didn’t even care if someone heard them, or more like _him_. The whole coven could hear them, he didn’t give a shit.

His grip on the headboard tightened to the point of his knuckles turning white as he felt he was reaching the edge. He reached down to stroke himself, but his hand was slapped away. A whine left his lips at that.

“I’m the one deciding if you can come or not.” growled Kouyou, pounding harder.

“I– _Nnngh_. I need to cum, Kou, please.”

Takanori wasn’t the type to beg, he actually rarely needed to, but as he had a slight moment of lucidity, he remembered that usually, Kouyou wasn’t like this either. He couldn’t possibly expect himself to be his usual self when his own boyfriend almost seemed like a total different person.

However, Kouyou seemed to still slightly be himself as he began to stroke the brunet’s leaking cock, soon enough bringing him over the edge. Takanori’s mind went blank as he came, barely hearing the low growl coming from his lover as he reached his orgasm too. The small brunet let himself fall on the bed, sliding off Kouyou’s cock. He rolled to the left side, curling up, hiding his face behind his brown locks.

He felt the bed move and soon felt a pair of strong arms surround him. Kouyou was embracing him from behind.

“If it’s to be such a jerk, go to one of them, I don’t want you to use me this way.” he mumbled, staring at his shaky hands.

It was silent for a while before his lover finally spoke.

“I’m sorry, mum pissed me off and I took it out on you.” whispered the honey blond, kissing the brunet on the top of his head.

Takanori couldn’t hold back a sob. This was the loving Kouyou he had fallen in love with.

“Why did you come to me if you were that pissed?” asked the brunet, trying as much as possible to keep his voice from breaking.

“I…”

The small witch waited for an answer, though when it seemed like a few minutes had passed, he was quite sure he wouldn’t get any. He tried to move away from his lover’s embrace, but Kouyou actually tightened his grasp around the other’s small frame. A gasp left his bruised plump lips, not sure whether he had just angered his boyfriend by trying to get away.

“I’m sorry, Taka, I shouldn’t be treating you this way.”

The brunet’s blue eyes widened as he heard the other truly apologizing this time.

“I know I’m despicable for sleeping with those girls, but mum keeps on nagging me to…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Takanori already knew what he wanted to say.

“To dump me, I know.”

“How do you know that?” the honey blond asked, surprised.

Takanori brought his hands to face, conflicted. Should he tell Kouyou how he had discovered his mother’s true feelings and intentions? He wasn’t sure how the other would react. Either he would just accept it and understand, either he would get angry with him for eavesdropping. Normally Kouyou would understand, but the brunet wasn’t sure he still knew his boyfriend.

“Does it matter?” he ended up asking.

“Not really…” replied Kouyou, stroking his head.

The brunet turned in his lover’s embrace in order to face him.

“Do you want to leave me, Kou?” he asked, staring in his hazel eyes.

The honey blond softly smiled at the small witch before lowering his head to kiss him lovingly.

“Of course not, silly.” he whispered against the brunet’s lips.

Takanori couldn’t keep himself from smiling. He wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck and kissed him again, drowning himself in the feeling of being loved this time.

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you though?” he asked, looking worriedly at his boyfriend.

“It would.” mumbled the honey blond, looking away.

The brunet gulped as he heard his answer. If Kouyou left him, his mother wouldn’t pressure him, he would be at peace and would be able to find someone who would bring him everything he needed, something Takanori couldn’t do in his current state.

“But I prefer to be with the one I love rather than someone I have to pretend to love.” continued the tall witch, brushing his nose against the brunet’s one.

“You didn’t even think one second about leaving me?” frowned Takanori, not quite believing it.

“Why would I think about it? Because my mother doesn’t like you? I don’t care about what she thinks.”

The brunet narrowed his eyes.

“Then why are you sleeping with those girls?” he asked.

That made the honey blond go dumb. Takanori shook his head, feeling his eyes sting. If he didn’t get an answer he was quite sure he would end up crying, he might even actually end up crying after getting it.

“It… calms mum down.” muttered Kouyou.

The brunet slowly nodded, biting his lower lip so hard it started bleeding. It pacified her until she understood that there was still something going on between the two teenagers. This must have been why she had gone to Kouyou earlier, she must have noticed Takanori leaving the honey blond’s room and she had talked about it with his boyfriend, again. It didn’t surprise the brunet that Kouyou had been mad afterwards, but he still couldn’t comprehend how he hadn’t stopped when Takanori had said he didn’t want to have sex.

_Crack_

The brunet startled as he heard it again. He looked around, his pupils dilated in a mix of fear and confusion. What was this sound?

“Taka, you okay?” asked Kouyou, sounding worried.

“I… Yeah… Sorry, I’m just tired.” whispered Takanori, snuggling up in his lover’s arms.

“Don’t apologise for being tired.” murmured the honey blond, kissing the brunet on the temple.

“Are you staying tonight?” asked the blue-eyed witch.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving, but if you want m–”

“No, stay!” cut him off the brunet.

The honey blond raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, but ended up smiling lovingly at his boyfriend.

“I won’t leave until you tell me to.” he whispered in the smaller man’s ear.

He didn’t get any answer, and as he looked at the brunet’s face, he noticed he was already asleep. He stroked his hair a few times until he felt like falling asleep himself. He grabbed the cover and pulled it up over them before he hugged Takanori back, still feeling guilty for what he had done. He knew he had behaved like a pure asshole, and he himself couldn’t quite fathom how he could have been that way, did anger really change him so much?

The honey blond closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, listening to the even breathing of his little lover. He would have to make it up for his horrible behaviour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... Well. This was a pretty fast update, ahah.  
> Still asking you, what do you think the 'crack' is?  
> Oh and sorry for the asshole Kouyou, but he's supposed to get worse later. Right now he still feels guilty.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet observed people walking around, his head resting in his left hand. He was sitting at a terrace, a glass of the barman’s latest creation in front of him. He didn't remember the name, but the drink was almost black and tasted like liquorice, it wasn’t too bad. He closed his eyes while massaging his forehead with his right hand. It had been a few days since he had last seen Kouyou, not that it really bothered him anyway.

_Crack_

He rolled his eyes and dropped his head on the table, sighing heavily. He had gotten used to this sound he kept on hearing, he didn’t have much choice anyway, it was definitely in his head, and he had no idea how to make it go away. He just hoped it would stop one day.

“Taka?”

He raised his head when he heard someone call him. He locked eyes with his mother’s jade-green eyes. The black-haired woman had a soft smile tugging at her rosy full lips. Seeing how many bags she was carrying, the brunet could only guess his mother had gone on another shopping spree.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Kouyou? Those are the last few nice days before winter comes.” she said, sitting opposite him.

He just weakly smiled at her, not knowing what he should answer. His mother had no idea of what was going on right now between the brunet and the honey blond.

“Now that I think about it, he hasn’t come to the house for a few days, and you didn’t visit him either. Is everything alright between you two?” the raven-haired woman thought out loud.

_Crack_

Takanori’s right eye twitched. He grabbed his drink and gulped what was left to gain some time. He could feel that he was about to snap at his mother, and that wasn’t like him to talk that way, especially not to her.

“Do you want me to talk with Shizuka?”

The brunet’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Kouyou’s mother.

“Sure, if you want to deal with a fucking liar.” he snapped.

He could see how shocked his mother was right now, but he just couldn’t play that game anymore. Why would he have to be nice with Kouyou’s mother? That woman was a two-faced bitch, just like her son.

He closed his eyes as he thought about what he had seen the night before. His mother thought he hadn’t tried seeing his boyfriend, but that wasn’t true. He had tried as much as possible to talk with Kouyou, to spend time with him, but the brunet had finally given up. What was the purpose in trying so hard to be with someone who didn’t give a shit about him? Kouyou had disappeared the morning after the sex Takanori had sort of been forced to give in to. Since then the brunet had tried to see the honey-blond witch, but when he had finally managed… He shouldn’t have looked for the other, at least now he knew it.

“That’s not very nice, Takanori.” frowned his mother.

“Do you think I care?” he groaned, rubbing his temples.

“Well… Maybe your mood will get better, I can see Kouyou coming here.”

The brunet cocked an eyebrow and looked around to notice that Kouyou was indeed heading to them, seemingly alone for once. Takanori just shook his head and huffed, did the honey blond really think a relationship worked that way?

“Hello Mrs. Matsumoto.” greeted the honey-blond witch before leaning forward to kiss the brunet.

However the small witch turned his head, making his boyfriend kiss his cheek instead of his lips. He had had a lot of time the past few days to think, and somehow, there was only one solution that came to him when he thought about him and Kouyou.

“Takanori, don’t be like that.”

The brunet stared at his mother incredulously. She couldn’t be serious, right?

“It’s fine, I didn’t have much time lately so I couldn’t see Taka, he has the right to punish me.”

“It shouldn’t be that wa–”

A cry of help cut off the woman. Everybody had stopped what they were doing and were now staring at one particular spot. It took some more time for Takanori to see what was going on, but when he did, he couldn’t help but smirk, though he hid that with his hand, knowing it would be quite inappropriate.

“What’s going on?” asked Kouyou, his hazel eyes wide open.

Takanori’s mother blinked a few times before looking at her son and his boyfriend.

“I hope I’m wrong, but… That seems like public shaming.” she replied.

“Public shaming?” repeated both the brunet and the honey blond.

“I noticed a few boards all over town, but I didn’t think it was serious.” said the raven-haired witch.

“Didn’t the high priestess said it was over though?” frowned Kouyou.

“Yes, but it’s not forbidden. If someone wants to get justice that way… They still can go for it. Your generation isn’t used to it boys, but when I was your age, it was pretty much common to have those kind of situations.” she said, a sad smile on her lips.

The brunet chewed on his lower lip, not knowing what to say. The way his mother said that made him want to laugh, she said things as if she were old, but she was only thirty-nine years old.

“What said the boards? I didn’t notice them.” asked the honey blond.

All the people on the square were gathering around a small group of other witches. As Takanori’s mother said, the high priestess might have put a stop to public humiliation, but she hadn’t forbidden it, and because it was quite new, people still were into it. Moreover, Takanori and Kouyou’s generation was curious, so they would definitely gather too.

“Something about a girl sleeping with someone already engaged, I think. I never really paid attention to this kind of humiliation so…”

Takanori stood up and joined the other witches, making his way through the crowd. He could feel Kouyou and his mother following him, and he was pretty sure his boyfriend perfectly knew what this was all about.

“I’m telling you, you’re wrong!”

The brunet scrunched up his nose as he heard that horrible high-pitched voice.

“We wouldn’t take you here if we weren’t sure about it, Chiaki, you know that.”

They reached the centre to see the dirty blonde girl sitting on the ground, surrounded by three witches, most likely those who had brought her on the square in the first place.

“How can they be sure?” asked Kouyou.

“The boards are created with a specific spell that makes it impossible to write lies on them.” explained Takanori’s mother.

The honey blond hummed, staring blankly at the girl. Takanori glanced at him and narrowed his eyes as he noticed something on his boyfriend’s shoulder as his jacket slightly slid off.

“Kou!”

He raised an eyebrow as he heard Chiaki call the honey blond that way. Only a few people could, and those were Takanori, their parents and Akira, Kouyou’s best friend. Never had the brunet heard a girl call him that way. He glanced at the dirty blonde and noticed her standing up to rush towards the tall honey-blond witch.

“What are you doing Chiaki?” asked one of the witches who had brought her there, grabbing her by the arm to make her stop in her tracks.

“What do you think, idiot? That’s my boyfriend.” she retorted, glaring at the red-haired witch.

Takanori gaped at her before turning around to face Kouyou, glaring at the honey blond.

“Mind to explain?” he almost spat.

“Taka…” sighed the taller witch.

“No, Kouyou, I’m done. You can’t have everything.” said the brunet.

“I already told you what was going on.” replied the honey blond.

“You didn’t say that those whores thought you were free.” he growled.

The brunet turned around as someone patted him on the shoulder. He was faced with Chiaki, the dirty blonde teenager smiling at him haughtily.

“You’re just his fuckboy.” she said, shrugging as she talked.

“Excuse me? You’re the one he’s screwing just to please his mother.” he frowned.

“Really? Then tell me why he let me mark him.” she smirked.

The brunet’s eyes widened, so he hadn’t hallucinated earlier? He looked at Kouyou and yanked at his boyfriend’s jacket, revealing a red mark that slowly was fading away, although he knew it would somehow stay. In a few days it would have turned either white or black and would turn into a tattoo.

Kouyou never could mark Takanori as he was a dead witch. Marking worked with magic after all, and spells didn’t affect the brunet. They had talked about it a lot after their first anniversary, but they weren’t that bothered by it in the end, until now at least.

“You let her mark you!?” he yelled.

The whispering was slowly rising from the crowd surrounding them.

“Taka, listen to me, I didn’t notice when she…”

_Crack_

He couldn’t even hear Kouyou anymore. His ears were ringing, his vision was blurred by the tears in his eyes. He really hadn’t expected such a thing to happen. Somehow he had ended up allowing the cheating, but that… His boyfriend wasn’t even _his_ anymore, he belonged to someone else, to a fucking delusional bitch.

“Taka, say something.”

_Crack_

He slapped Kouyou’s hands away, feeling one on his shoulder while the other one reached for his face. He shook his head and glared at both the honey blond and dirty blonde. He couldn’t stop himself and slapped his boyfriend, sadness and the feeling of betrayal had been replaced by pure rage.

“Don’t ever come near me again.” he growled.

He then turned to the girl.

“Good luck keeping him for yourself, he loves going behind everyone’s back way too much to stay faithful to a slut like you.” he said.

“Takanori…”

He looked at his mother, smiling sadly at her.

“I need to be alone right now, I’ll come back in the evening.” he said before walking away.

Once he was sure to be out of sight, the brunet began to run, heading to the gates. He couldn’t stay in this place one more second. He ran through the woods, slipping on leaves and tripping over roots. He never had felt so betrayed in his whole life, even when Yuu had left, he hadn’t felt that bad. But Yuu was like a brother, while Kouyou was literally Takanori’s everything. They had been dating for almost three years, and the brunet being a dead witch, he knew nobody else would want him if they were to break up one day. Well, that day had come.

_Crack_

He reached the clearing and let himself fall on his knees, groaning in pain as he finally felt the bruises and cuts on his body. He slowly sat and stared down at his bleeding hands. What was he supposed to do now? Go back and be the laughing stock of the coven? He knew that nobody would support him in this, they might like him, but when it came to defend a dead witch against a normal one… No one would take the dead witch’s side.

“I guess you are Takanori.”

He looked up to lock eyes with a total stranger. The man had wavy brown hair with lighter strands and chocolate-brown eyes. He was slightly smiling at the small brunet.

“Who are you?” Takanori asked.

“I’m Kai.” he replied, crouching in front of the witch.

“Oh, you’re Yuu’s boyfriend.” whispered the small brunet, looking away.

“Yeah, he wanted us to meet today, but he was held back at work.” he said, smiling apologetically.

“Just say at school, I know he’s going to teach at my high school.” sighed the witch.

“Is it a problem?” he asked, grabbing one of Takanori’s hands to look at it.

“Not really, not anymore.” he sighed.

“What happened?” asked Kai, looking at both hands now.

“I tripped, that’s all.” groaned the brunet.

He winced as he felt the other touching his hands.

“You can’t do anything, I’ll just deal with this when I’m back home.” he said, taking his hands away.

“I could heal those.”

“No, magic doesn’t work on me.” he mumbled.

“I’m not a witch, my magic isn’t the same.” Kai replied, smiling widely.

Takanori stared at the taller brunet, wondering if that would change something. He smiled softly before getting up, groaning as he felt pain going through his whole body.

“It won’t change anything.” he said. “It was nice meeting you, Kai.”

“I’m glad I could meet the famous Takanori Aoi keeps on talking about.” laughed the tall brunet.

“Aoi?” frowned Takanori.

“He doesn’t want anyone to call him Yuu, I think you’re an exception.” he explained. “I think it makes him think about the coven, it brings up bad memories.”

The brunet witch nodded, not really surprised. Aoi actually hadn’t had an easy life when he was still in the coven, his family had suffered a lot of hardship, especially with what had happened to his older sister.

“I’m relieved to see that he found someone like you.” said Takanori, walking away.

At least one of them had a loving partner and a happy life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the third chapter, finally. A lot of things aren't explained, but well... Everything will get clearer in the next chapters, though I'm actually taking a break right now, not from writing, but from posting. I don't feel motivated to post my stories anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

Kouyou was pacing in the bedroom, waiting for Takanori’s return. The sun had set, the boy had been out god knew where for two hours now and the honey blond couldn’t stop worrying about him. He knew he had no right to do so, nor to be there. He had hurt the small brunet, and even though the high priestess had solved the problem of the mark, punishing at the same time Chiaki and asking for a private talk with Kouyou’s mother, he still needed to talk to his small lover. Yes, even if Takanori had said that it was over, the honey blond wasn’t ready to let him go like that. He honestly had no idea how things had turned out this way. Never had he thought that he would one day hurt the small brunet that much. He knew he wasn’t the best person around here, he had taken advantage of Takanori’s trust and love, from the very beginning of their relationship.

The honey blond groaned and grabbed his head. He hadn’t been careful enough. He sat on the bed, looking around the room. Nothing in here made it personal now that he thought about it. There only was furniture, one painting he knew Takanori had painted and a plant. It was as if the brunet didn’t plan on staying here, although this had been his bedroom since he was a child. He wasn’t sure whether that was due to Takanori’s state. He was a dead witch, and even though Kouyou and all the other witches supported him, the honey blond could sense that it wasn’t enough for the brunet. The tall witch was scared, scared that things would end up the same way it did with Yuu’s sister. If he could, he would have told Takanori about it, but the high priestess and the elders had decided to erase all of the brunet’s memories when it came to Yuu. Kouyou still had no idea how they had managed to do so, how they had managed to make a spell work on Takanori when he was a dead witch. But anyway… The whole coven had been told to avoid Yuu’s subject when the small brunet was around, and that’s what they had done for six years. However that didn’t stop the honey blond from worrying about his lover, he could see Takanori breaking and slowly growing apart from everybody. He was quite sure the brunet felt more and more out casted, and with what had happened today… It would be even worse. Even though everyone knew what Chiaki had done was wrong, they wouldn’t take Takanori’s defence, because a dead witch was of no use to the coven.

Kouyou facepalmed himself, sighing at the same time. He maybe should never have gotten involved with a dead witch…

His head shot up when he heard footsteps and soon the door was opened, revealing a small shivering figure. He stood up and rushed to the small man, only to get pushed away.

“What the hell are you doing here?” yelled Takanori, glaring at the honey blond.

The brunet couldn’t believe it, what was Kouyou doing here? What was going on in his mother's head to let the honey blond stay here?

“Taka, what happened to you?”

“Why do you care? Fuck off Kouyou, I don’t want to see you.” spat Takanori, opening his wardrobe to get his first-aid kit.

“We need to talk, Taka.”

He shook his head as he disinfected his cuts, hissing slightly at the pain. There was nothing to talk about, according to him it was quite clear, things were over between them, and Kouyou could try as much as he wanted, Takanori didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. He didn’t need to be hurt more than he already had been.

“The high priestess took the mark away.”

Takanori’s head shot up when he heard that, was it even possible? He looked at Kouyou as the honey blond took his jacket off to show his shoulder. Indeed the red mark was gone, as if it had never been there.

_Crack_

The brunet closed his eyes and exhaled before speaking up.

“And what does it change?” he asked while bandaging his hands.

“I’m not linked to Chiaki anymore.”

“So?”

Kouyou frowned, watching Takanori’s every move as the brunet put the kit back in his wardrobe before walking to the window to sit on the sill, which was covered by cushions. That was Takanori’s favourite spot, as his house was on a hill, he could observe the whole coven from his window, although now his gaze seemed to be set on the forest rather than the town.

The honey blond had noticed that Takanori went out more often than before, almost never spending time in town. He knew it was partly his fault though, he hadn’t taken the time to be with him, but it worried him to see how the brunet seemed to be so eager to spend time out there. Kouyou had met Akira in the morning, and the bleached-blond witch had told him that he had spent some time with Takanori the last few days, but that each time the brunet would leave at a certain hour and would go into the woods. The honey blond had asked why Akira hadn’t followed his little lover back then, but the only answer he had received was that it wasn’t his problem what Takanori did. However Kouyou had noticed how Akira and Takanori exchanged knowing looks and smiles at school, he wasn’t sure what it meant though. Maybe Takanori had found a good friend in Akira, the honey blond knew that the brunet always had a hard time getting along with people, always feeling inferior because of his condition.

“Shouldn’t you be happy?” asked Kouyou.

“Happy? How could I? You let her mark you.” growled Takanori.

“I didn’t notice when she did it.” tried to explain the honey blond.

“Sure, it’s not like it hurts to get marked.” said the brunet, rolling his eyes.

“Taka…”

The taller witch tried to stroke the other’s cheek, but his hand was slapped away, again. When he looked at Takanori’s face, he noticed his glassy eyes and the hurt in them. Although he tried to play tough, the brunet really had been hurt by Kouyou’s doings, and the honey blond only noticed it now. It shouldn’t have surprised him, what he was doing was wrong, but because Takanori had said nothing the other night, because he hadn’t asked him to stop what he was doing, he thought it was fine to go on with the girls, however he had been wrong.

“At least your mother got what she wanted.” bitterly laughed Takanori.

“She’s in a meeting with the high priestess and the elders, I don’t think it will end up well for her.” said Kouyou, looking at the night sky.

“She would only get what she deserves…” murmured the brunet, bringing his knees close to his chest to hug his legs.

The honey blond didn’t say anything, not even sure that what he had heard was right. Takanori had said it so quietly that it was barely audible. He wondered what his mother would get though, she definitely wouldn’t get out of there without a punishment. The high priestess seemed to care about Takanori’s wellbeing way more than any other witch’s. The brunet hadn’t noticed it, but Kouyou had. There was something the high priestess hid, he was convinced about it, but what could it possibly be? Even the elders must have been kept out of that secret, that would be logical knowing that they behaved differently towards Takanori.

“Takanori, give me another chance.” he finally said, knowing that it was risky.

And by seeing how the brunet glared at him when he said that, he knew this was vain. He had hurt the small witch too deeply for him to forgive him just like that. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh before letting himself fall on the bed, his elbows propped on his thighs as he hid his face in his hands.

Takanori’s gaze softened a little as he watched the honey blond like that. He slowly stood up, wincing at the pain he felt going through his body. He definitely had bruises, he would check that once Kouyou would be gone. He walked to the honey blond and grabbed his chin to make him look up. The brunet leaned forward and pressed his lips against Kouyou’s bow-shaped ones. He pulled away before the honey blond could reach for his neck, not wanting to go any further. As much as he tried to give Kouyou the cold shoulder, he knew that more would make him give in to any of the honey blond’s whim, and he couldn’t do that, not anymore.

Kouyou grabbed his hand, but he turned around, not wanting to look at him. He let out a shaky breath before yanking his hand away.

“You should leave, Kouyou.”

“Taka…”

“Please. I need to be alone, give me some time.”

He didn’t hear anything for a few minutes, he was about to turn around and make the other go when he felt hands on his hips. The brunet stiffened, not knowing what to expect. He shivered as he felt the other’s breath next to his ear.

“Come back to me.” the honey blond whispered before kissing the brunet in the neck.

He gulped and almost whimpered at the loss of Kouyou’s hands on his hips. The honey blond’s touches had always made him weak. When he turned around to look at him, his ex-boyfriend wasn’t in the room anymore, his words and scent lingering in the air, a reminder of what Takanori had lost.

Takanori let himself fall back on the windowsill, grabbing a plush cushion at the same time, and buried his face in it, letting out a loud cry he had been holding back for hours, if not actually for days or even years. He didn’t think he would ever be able to go back to Kouyou. His whole world had been shattered to pieces the moment he had learnt about the cheating, and Chiaki marking the honey-blond witch had been the final straw. As much as Takanori wished to go back to Kouyou, he knew nothing would ever be the same, and he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to look at himself in the mirror if he gave in to the honey blond. The brunet would have to be very gullible to think that things would be fine between them afterwards. There was no way everything would go back to their former perfect relationship, if it ever actually was perfect.

_Crack_

A cry of pain left his lips as he heard that sound again, though this time it felt like all his bones were breaking at the same time. He fell on the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks, what was going on?

_Crack_

His eyes widened as he felt it again, screaming once again before losing consciousness, not being able to withstand the pain that shot through his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but seriously, their relationship couldn't go on after what happened. Don't hate me ;;


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet groaned as he regained consciousness, his head throbbing in pain. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what had happened. He frowned as he noticed he was lying on the ground, next to the windowsill. He slowly stood up, leaning on the sill to keep balance. He fell on the cushions and noticed at the same time that it was morning. He ran his hand through his hair and gulped as he felt a few strands sticking together. He looked at his fingers and shook his head as he saw blood, what had happened to him? He remembered Kouyou being here, them talking, if it could be considered as talking, and then the honey blond leaving, but what had happened next?

Takanori walked out of his bedroom and heard noise coming from the kitchen, his mother was cooking.

“Mum?” he called out, feeling like throwing up as everything started spinning.

His legs gave up when his mother arrived, the raven-haired woman catching him before he hit the ground again.

“Taka? What happened?” she asked, carrying him to the living room.

He groaned in reply, trying to find a spot to stare at in order to stop the spinning.

“Are you bleeding!?”

He winced at his mother’s yell, which made his headache worsen. He heard her running somewhere before coming back. He felt her hands on his scalp, then a cloth. She was cleaning his wound.

“You’re lucky, I don’t need to stitch you, but… Taka, what happened?”

She laid a pack of ice on his forehead. The brunet closed his eyes, sighing lightly. This felt good.

“I don’t know, I woke up on the ground.” he replied.

“Did Kouyou do something to you?” she asked, stroking his head.

He smiled sadly.

“No. I don’t know what happened, but it was after he left.” he explained, opening his eyes to meet his mother’s worried gaze.

“I’m sorry, Takanori, I should have seen that something was wrong between you two.”

“You’re not responsible, mum, I let this happen.”

She frowned, taking her hand away from the teenager’s hair.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a dead witch, it was predictable that Kouyou would go to someone else.” he replied, looking down.

He was trying hard right now to not make his mother suspect anything, but to not say the whole truth was hard, especially to her as he used to tell her everything that was going on in his life. But he couldn’t anymore, he was soon eighteen and some things were to be kept unspoken, he knew it. He didn’t want people to pity him, but he didn’t want people to take him for a heartless monster either, so he just had to somehow stick to his current image. Nobody knew anything, besides Akira, in whom he had found a good partner. Even Yuu wasn’t aware of what the brunet was truly doing in town, although the brunet was quite sure that the raven would soon find out.

“Taka, don’t say things like that, Kouyou knew what you were when you two started dating, he has no excuse for cheating on you.” she retorted, seemingly getting mad.

“Do you even know the whole story?” he asked, glancing at her from the corner of the eye.

“The whole story?”

He took the ice pack off his forehead and stood up, waving a bit before getting his balance back.

“Are you still friend with Shizuka?” he asked, giving the pack to his mother.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she frowned.

He shook his head, laughing at his mother’s naivety.

“She’s behind this, partly at least. She’s been nagging Kouyou for a while about getting a real witch as a partner, preferably a girl.”

The raven-haired witch’s jade-green eyes widened in shock.

“Kouyou changed because of her.” he continued. “He never was the perfect guy around here, but he was loving. Though he became violent, selfish and extremely possessive over time.”

“You must be exaggera–”

“I’m not making things up mum, you don’t even want to know in what state he left me sometimes.” he cut her off, rubbing his left arm as he looked away.

“Kouyou is a loving kid who made mistakes, Taka, not a complete asshole like your father.”

He snorted at that statement. His mother using this kind of words was rare, but when she talked about his father… He just wanted to laugh. She never wanted to tell him who his father was, nor where he was, and what he had done to her to deserve such harsh words. Maybe it was because he wasn’t there for them, but it wasn’t exactly needed, his mother was from a rich family, she didn’t need a man to take care of her. She had raised Takanori perfectly, with the help of Yuu’s mother when she really couldn’t skip work. Now that he completely remembered the Shiroyamas, he knew that he really was like a younger brother to Yuu, they had spent so much time together when they were kids, until Yuu had left six years ago, or more like had been forced to leave. The rest of his family had left the coven soon after too, though more because of what had happened to his sister than to him, their son leaving just had made them understand that nothing held them back here anymore.

“I need to go to school.” he said, going back to his bedroom.

“Maybe you should rest, just for today.” said his mother, following him.

“I can’t. If I don’t go today, it makes me look weak. I don’t want people to pity me even more, being a dead witch is enough.” he sighed, grabbing some clothes before going to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

He walked past his mother and before closing the bathroom’s door, he turned around to smile at her.

“I’m fine, mum, no need to worry, go to work.” he said and locked the door behind him.

He quickly took his clothes off and stepped into the stall, leaning against the tiled wall as water ran down his body. He stared at his hands, which he had been careful to hide during this whole time. They were shaking and he could see patterns appearing, then disappearing. Now he perfectly remembered what had happened last night, and it scared him.

_Crack_

The brunet bent in half, hissing at the pain that shot through his ribcage.

“Come on, don’t tell me it’s happening to me too…”

Tears trickled down his cheeks before dropping on the ground. He stared down at the small drops disappearing with the pure water from the shower, was he imagining things or was he really crying black tears?

_Crack_

He fell on his knees, his hands on the wall to keep some of his balance. Something was stuck in his throat. He parted his lips, trying to cough, hitting his chest at the same time, but nothing came out. He could barely breathe, black tears still flowing down his pale cheeks. He hit his chest one last time and a gurgling sound came out of his throat. His eyes widened to the point he thought they would pop out of his orbits as he threw up something black, just like his tears. He didn’t know how long it took, but at the end he thought he would faint, although he knew he couldn’t let that happen again. He fell on his right side and hugged his body, digging his nails into his skin.

_Crack_

He rolled on his back as his body arched violently, he was quite sure something really broke in him this time. His breathing was ragged, but he was slowly getting calmer, the pain slowly fading away, though he wasn’t sure for how long. He closed his eyes and exhaled, laughing at the same time. It was the end, wasn’t it?

✡✡✡

“Not with your bitch today?”

The honey blond sighed and ran a hand through his long locks when Ryoga asked him this. He glanced at him and shook his head in defeat, knowing it was useless to try making Ryoga respect Takanori.

“First of all, he’s not a bitch.”

“Yeah sure.” laughed the blond, waving his hand in a dismissive way.

“And he broke up with me.” ended Kouyou, slapping that hand away, quite sure he would get it in the face in the end.

Ryoga gaped at him, not expecting such news.

“He did? No way, he’s too into you to break up.”

“Stop saying bullshit for once, Ryoga.”

They both turned around to face Akira, who was glaring at his two friends. They were standing in front of the school gates, smoking a cigarette before the beginning of their class. Usually, Takanori would be there with them, in Kouyou’s arms, but they would have to get used to another routine now that the small brunet had broken up with the tall honey blond.

“Maybe he broke up to be with Akira.” said Ryoga, smirking at the other bleached-blond teenager.

“What is that supposed to mean?” frowned Kouyou, staring at his best friend.

“Don’t ask me, I’m not in this idiot’s head.” he shrugged, lighting up another cigarette.

“Come on, lately we’ve seen Takanori with you rather than with Kouyou, there are some rumours about you two.” explained Ryoga.

“Well, what did you want Takanori to do? Hang out with you? You take him for shit because he’s a dead witch.” retorted Akira.

“That’s because I really don’t understand what he’s doing in this school, this is for people like us, not for plain humans.”

“He’s not human, that’s the thing, Ryoga. He has a seal, just like you and me.” growled the other blond.

Kouyou rolled his eyes before slapping both his friends on the back of their heads.

“Stop it.” he ordered, glaring at them.

The two blonds glared daggers at each other before looking back at the honey blond.

“Ryoga, Taka spent time with Aki because I… didn’t bother to do so.” he sighed, looking at the cloudy sky.

He frowned, it seemed like there would be a storm today, the ominous dark clouds were typical of such weather.

“Anyway. Aki, have you seen Taka before coming here?” he asked the blond with a noseband.

The other shook his head in response.

“I’m not sure he wants to get visits right now anyway, he’ll act strong but… He’s hurting, he already was before yesterday.” said the bleached blond, smiling faintly.

“He told you that?” asked the honey blond, an eyebrow quirked up in surprise.

“Kouyou, when you were screwing your whores, we actually became _pretty close_ , so… I think he might have told me things he wouldn’t talk about with you.” smirked Akira.

“ _You son of a b–_ ”

“Akira?”

Kouyou stopped himself right there when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and frowned as he saw Takanori’s mother, Nanami. What was she doing here? She never came around here, and seeing that Takanori wasn’t with her, she didn’t come with him.

“Mrs. Matsumoto? What is it?” asked the honey blond, but he didn’t receive any answer.

The raven-haired took a few steps and ignored him, her eyes set on his best friend, who seemed as confused as him.

“What can I do for you, Nanami?”

Kouyou frowned when he heard Akira calling the woman by her first name, he never had dared do such a thing, and he had been dating Takanori for almost three years.

“I would normally ask Kouyou, but I don’t exactly trust him anymore, so I’ll ask you Akira.”

The bleached blond nodded slightly, still confused.

“You’ve been with my son a lot lately, be it at home or in town.” she began.

“Yeah… I kept him company as his boyfriend couldn’t.” replied Akira, looking at Kouyou from the corner of the eye.

“Yes, I now know why.”

Kouyou flinched as he noticed the glare the raven-haired witch gave him. Nanami was known to be a kind woman, but it seemed like she had had a pretty wild youth and when you pissed her off… You better ran fast. She had kept a quite passionate personality and sometimes she acted before thinking, though that was rare after Takanori’s birth. That was what the honey blond’s mother had agreed to tell though, so he was quite sure there was more to it, like for example, who was Takanori’s father.

“I’d understand if you refused Akira, but I need your help.”

The three teenagers tilted their heads in confusion.

“I want you to watch over Takanori.”

“Why is that?” frowned the blond.

The woman bit her lip, looking away.

“Did something happen, Nanami?” he asked, looking concerned now.

“I don’t know what happened actually.” she replied.

“Tell me what you know.”

She glanced once again at Kouyou before shrugging.

“Takanori came out of his room calling for me, he almost collapsed and actually had hurt his head, he was bleeding.”

Kouyou’s eyes widened when he heard that, the brunet was hurt? When he had left he seemed to be fine though, what could have possibly happened to him during the night?

“I just want to be sure that he’s fine around here, he seems to trust you so… I’d like you to take care of my son until he gets back to his normal self.” she said, bowing down.

The three boys stared at her, surprised. Never had they thought an adult would one day bow in front of one of them.

“It’s fine Nanami, I was planning to do so anyway.” smiled Akira, making her straighten up.

“I shouldn’t be telling you that but… I’m scared, the way he is lately…”

Kouyou, Ryoga and Akira looked at each other, almost sure about what the raven was about to say.

“It’s like with Mayumi.”

They all looked down at the mention of Yuu’s sister, knowing that if it was the truth, it might actually even be too late for Takanori.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.” Akira reassured her.

“Thank you.”

She quickly left afterwards, being already late for work. The teenagers glanced at each other before walking in the school, not exactly knowing what to say. They went to their class and sat at their places, still not uttering a word. Now that Kouyou thought about it, they had a new teacher coming today, replacing their former Spells teacher. The honey blond snorted as he thought about it, would it be another woman? The last one hadn’t last a month in this class, boys harassing her all the time and girls looking down on her, everybody making pranks on her too. He didn’t really know what was wrong with her, but somehow she didn’t give off a good aura, so they had made things so she would quit. When the door was opened he looked up and froze, not believing his eyes.

“Hi, I’m Aoi, your new teacher.” said the raven-haired man, smirking.

 _This is going to be hell_ , thought the honey blond.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet staggered as he walked up the stairs, an arm wrapped around his chest while he grabbed the banister with his right hand to steady himself. He was late, it was just a few minutes, but he was late, and that would bring even more of the others’ attention to him. He groaned and stopped for a few seconds. This hurt like hell. He was quite sure he had a broken rib and a sprained ankle, he had to take a damn taxi to come here, not even capable of walking until the bus stop. He would normally go to his mother in such a situation, she worked as a nurse after all, but if he did, she would begin to worry about his state, and he couldn’t let that happen. He knew that Yuu was supposed to start teaching today, so he would ask him to help him, be it by trying with magic even if he didn’t think it would work. It was a risk to ask the raven for help, he would directly understand what was going on with Takanori, and this could break him by bringing up bad memories.

The dead witch sighed in relief as he reached the right floor, heading directly to his classroom, trying as much as he could to walk and breathe normally. He stopped in front of the door and smiled as he heard Yuu introducing himself under the name of Aoi, which meant the brunet wasn’t that late. He opened the door, trying to hide a wince as the effort made pain shoot through his ribcage. He scrunched up his nose as he noticed everyone staring at him, maybe he shouldn’t have come.

“Takanori, it’s not that nice to be late for my first lesson.” said Aoi, faking sadness in his tone.

The brunet smiled apologetically.

“Sorry, something came up.” he said, sitting at his desk, holding back a hiss.

He glanced at Kouyou. The honey blond was looking at him with worried eyes, which made the brunet wonder what that was for. He glared at his ex-boyfriend and then took out a book from his tote bag. He looked at Aoi and smiled as the raven began the lesson where the former teacher had left it, at least that was what he thought, he had skipped this class quite a lot.

Takanori sometimes wondered why he had to take it, being a dead witch and being in a school full of different species, some not able to use magic, thus not obliged to attend to this class. For some unknown reasons, the high priestess had said that it was still needed for all the coven’s members, no matter what type of witch they were.

“Anyone can tell me what this spell is?”

The brunet looked up and gaped at what the raven had written on the blackboard. _Sanguineum Vinculum_. He knew for a fact that this wasn’t in any spell book they used in class, it was even hard to find in the coven’s library, being in the restricted section.

He gulped as he locked eyes with Aoi, not quite sure what the raven was trying to achieve here. Nobody could possibly know about this spell, the silence that followed the man’s question proving it. Takanori glanced at Akira, who stared back at him with piercing eyes. Well, Akira actually knew about it too, but the brunet was quite sure the blond wouldn’t utter a word about it.

He sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, before speaking up.

“You really want to talk about that?” he asked, an eyebrow quirked up.

“Why not?” shrugged the raven, smiling impishly.

The brunet stared at the other for a few seconds before shaking his head in defeat.

“That’s the spell to break our seals.” he explained.

He could feel some of the students’ stares burning in his back as others gasped, most likely shocked. Was it such a surprise that he knew about it? He was a dead witch after all, they should have expected him to look at this kind of spells.

“Do you know how it works?” smirked Aoi, leaning against the wall next to the blackboard, his arms crossed over his chest.

The brunet rolled his eyes, not believing the raven was doing this.

“The name makes it quite obvious. You have to use blood in order to cast it, your own blood that is.”

The raven-haired witch hummed, his smirk growing more wicked. He made a gesture as to encourage Takanori to keep on talking, at which the brunet bit his lower lip. He didn’t want the others to discover how much he knew about it, and he had the feeling Aoi was doing this on purpose, though he couldn’t fathom why. What was planning the raven? Something was wrong with his behaviour.

“You make a deal with what is sealed inside you, the same way you would do it with your familiar, I think.”

Aoi nodded, walking around the room, observing each student’s reaction. All of them weren’t witches, but a big part was, and from the same coven, which meant that they all had a seal. Most of the witches looked as if they had seen a ghost while the other students seemed interested, even if they had no clue about what it would truly do. Most of the students who weren’t witches didn’t care about the seals, not seeing anything interesting in them, as they didn’t affect them.

“What if you’re a dead witch?”

The brunet stiffened at the mention of his state. What had he done to Aoi for the raven to take whatever it was out on him?

“I have no idea.” mumbled Takanori, really not knowing how it would work for him.

“Anyone?” the teacher asked, stopping right behind Kouyou.

Takanori glanced sideways at them both and blinked a few times to be sure what he saw wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him. Was Aoi literally glaring at Kouyou? He frowned, wondering what could have happened between them. Aoi’s eyes showed pure hatred and contempt. Kouyou didn’t move, his chest almost not heaving as he stared blankly ahead, not even blinking.

_Crack_

The brunet tried to hold back his groan as much as possible, but it was to no avail as both Kouyou and Aoi seemed to snap out of their current state to look at him.

“Everything’s okay, Takanori?” asked the raven, crouching next to him.

“I need to go the nurse’s office.” managed to say the brunet, wrapping his arms around his body.

“I wil–”

“I’ll help him, go on with your lesson, Aoi-sensei.” proposed Akira, standing up.

That’s when the brunet noticed that it actually was Kouyou who had started talking when the bleached-blond witch interrupted him. He looked from the corner of the eye at the honey blond to see him glaring at Akira, some sort of tension forming between them, which surprised Takanori much more than Aoi’s behaviour. Those two weren’t supposed to behave that way around each other, they were best friends after all, not enemies or rivals. Was everything he was used to breaking apart or what?

“No need to fight over him, you two.” sighed Aoi, taking the brunet in his arms as he straightened up. “You’re all free, I wanted to see how curious you were with this lesson, but it seems like you witches aren’t at all, which is truly disappointing.”

Takanori wrapped his arms around the raven’s neck not to fall, although it hurt him to do so because of his broken rib. Aoi grabbed both their bags and walked out of the classroom, directly heading to the nurse’s office. The brunet was surprised to see that no one was in there, not even the nurse, as the older witch opened the door. He was gently laid on a bed, a curtain hiding them.

“So, what’s going on?” asked Aoi, sitting on a chair next to the bed.

“I’d have gone to my mother but… I can’t worry her any more.” replied the brunet, biting his lower lip.

“What is it?”

The brunet lifted his shirt, revealing a deep-purple, huge bruise. He didn’t know how that was possible as he wasn’t hit, but a bruise had appeared on the right side of his ribcage. He had other bruises on his legs and arms, but those were from when he fell in the forest while running. He perfectly knew that he hadn’t hit himself on his ribcage while falling, so this had something to do with his state worsening. He noticed Aoi’s dark eyes widening, probably from shock.

“Could you try heal this with magic?” he whispered, looking away.

It took a few minutes for the raven to answer, his eyes seemed to be glued on the smaller witch’s chest. He couldn’t believe what he saw, it looked as if someone had punched Takanori really hard, but for the brunet to come to him for such a thing… He knew it wasn’t the case, and it worried him. Were things going faster than he thought they would? This was a bad sign and he needed to do something about it, the brunet had already one foot in the grave from what Aoi could see. He needed to accelerate the whole process before Takanori’s body gave up.

“Are you hurt somewhere else?” he asked, finally taking his eyes off the small boy’s body.

“I think I sprained my left ankle.” muttered Takanori, chewing the inside of his cheeks.

The raven nodded and carefully took off the brunet’s shoe and sock, grimacing as he saw the swollen ankle. He touched it slightly but directly stopped as he heard the other hissing in pain. He would try healing it with magic, as that was what Takanori wanted, and at the same time he would try something else, though he wouldn’t tell it.

“I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee you anything.” he said.

“Just do it.” blurted out the brunet.

Takanori observed Aoi as the man whispered a spell, his hands hovering over his body. He closed his eyes and buried his head in the pillow, hoping that it would work. Aoi had managed to bring his memories back after all, so why wouldn’t this work?

_Crack_

His eyes snapped open as he heard that sound again, but this time there wasn’t any pain, it was like in the beginning, just the sound of something breaking ringing in his ears. He sighed and felt that his rib and his ankle were hurting less, was Aoi’s spell working?

“Aoi, what was that in class?” he asked, staring at the white ceiling.

The raven just hummed, still working on the other’s body.

“What have I done to you? The way you were… Why did you insist on this spell? You know my situation.” continued the brunet.

“When did you stop calling me Yuu?”

Takanori frowned, not pleased with the other ignoring his questions, but still answered.

“Isn’t it better for you?”

“It is, but I didn’t expect you to stop like that.” replied the raven, his hand hovering over the brunet’s face for few seconds.

“I spoke with Kai, and with you teaching here under the name of Aoi, I just think it’s easier this way, for you and me.” sighed Takanori.

Aoi nodded in understanding, smiling softly.

“You didn’t answer my question.” insisted the brunet.

The older witch sighed, feeling that the other wouldn’t give up on that. Would he buy what he was about to tell him?

“I don’t really know, something just pushed me to be like that.” he replied.

Takanori narrowed his eyes, not quite believing what Aoi was telling him. He was going to retort something but the raven was faster.

“Have you noticed anything with your body, other than… Well, bones breaking without any reason?” he asked.

The brunet made a slight grimace, not quite sure it was a good idea to explain what had happened to him.

“I cried black tears, and vomited something black too, it looked like ink.”

The raven’s faint smile disappeared at those words, looking awfully sad now. How come Takanori’s state had worsened so fast? He knew that things quickly changed, but not that drastically. It had taken two weeks for Mayumi to throw up black blood when she had been in that state. She had begun to hear weird sounds, then breaking some bones, and before she could grasp what was happening to her, she was already dead. Black blood was the last stage, Takanori only had a few days left before his whole body gave up.

Aoi had done some research, and he had ended up finding out that what actually had happened was that at some point, a dead witch’s body stopped functioning because of the lack of magic. Dead witches still were witches, which meant they _needed_ magic to live. By creating the seal, the high priestess and the elders somehow sentenced them to death for _nothing_. The black blood was the result of the body having used all the magic it had to live, and slowly, everything began to decay. Dead witches literally were rotting from within. Their blood turned poisonous, their organs gave up, and the seal somehow tried to break by itself in order to keep the witch alive, although it actually worsened everything as it triggered the barriers the high priestess and the elders had set.

“There was that weird thing on my hands too.” mumbled Takanori.

“A weird thing?” asked Aoi, looking up at the brunet to see that he was staring at his entwined fingers.

“Patterns, like tattoos or something.”

A smirk slowly stretched across the raven’s full lips, the small dead witch completely unaware of the older man’s reaction.

“You don’t need to worry about that, Taka.” said Aoi, patting the other’s head.

“But–”

“ _Don’t_ worry, it’s nothing bad. You should rest for now, the spell is still working, in an hour your whole body should be healed so just take a nap.” he interrupted him, standing up.

Takanori bit his lip but ended up nodding, closing his eyes and making himself more comfortable.

“I’ll tell the nurse not to bother you.” he said, leaning down to kiss the small witch on the forehead.

“Thanks.” whispered the brunet, already dozing off.

Aoi shook his head, stroking the other’s hair and pushing a few strands away from his face, before walking out of the office as he sighed in relief. He was still worried about the younger witch, but less than before as he now knew that his marks were appearing. He would have to thank Kai, if it weren’t for his boyfriend’s intervention, Takanori would actually already be dead by now. Now, the raven could only hope that the brunet wouldn’t miss his chance to finally embrace his true self, putting aside all the lies the coven had told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here are a lot of things revealed, at least, I think there's a lot, ahah. It's kind of weird to tell so much, but well, it was needed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“Took you long enough.”

The brunet blinked a few times, looking around, disorientated. Where was he? He was standing in an empty, white room with no visible exit. He turned around to see who had just talked, but once he did, he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. Was he going crazy? There stood a boy of his height, dressed all in black leather, staring right back at him. The guy could have been him if it weren’t for his blond hair and golden eyes with thin, vertical pupils. His skin seemed to be covered with tattoos, similar to the marks Takanori had noticed on his own hands earlier.

“Who are you?” asked the brunet, his eyebrows knitted.

“Isn’t it easy to guess?” smirked the blond.

Takanori tilted his head to the side, wondering what the other meant, until it dawned on him. His seal. This was what had been kept locked inside of him for all these years. This was what he had been thinking about for months now. However he wasn’t quite sure what it meant, to be able to meet… How could he call that? _His other self_? The brunet couldn’t quite fathom how such thing was possible, was his seal weakening? He hadn’t done anything to break it yet, so how was this situation even possible? Had the state he was in triggered something inside of him? Slowly shattering the spell?

“Don’t ask yourself too many questions, the only thing you need to know is that I’m what you need to finally feel complete.” the blond said, his smirk gone from his ruby red-painted, plump lips.

“How can I be sure?” wondered Takanori, gazing warily at his double.

“Why are you so suspicious? You know what I’m telling you is the truth, you can feel it deep inside yourself.” shrugged the other, walking around.

The blue-eyed witch kept on staring at the other, not moving from his spot. He could feel a strong link between him and the blond, he was questioning the other when he actually knew that he was right. Takanori had always felt empty, as if something had always been missing. One would say that it was his lack of magic making him feel like that, and he thought that way too, before, but that had changed. With time he had understood that something else was missing, something that only witches with magic could possibly ignore and live without, although not all of them managed in the end, Aoi being the perfect example.

“I’m dying.” he whispered, locking eyes with the other’s golden ones.

The blond snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Hell yeah you are, and I’m going down with you.”

“Does your life really depend on mine?”

“I’m you, can’t you get that? I was born with you, I grew up with you. I’m just a part of you, one that’s been sealed for unknown reasons.” sighed the blond, sitting down on the ground.

“So you don’t know why we have seals?” asked the brunet.

“No, I only know what you know, and things about what I am of course, but what’s happening outside of the seal… I only get to know everything through your eyes.” explained the blond, licking his lips.

Takanori hummed in response. This actually made sense, as long as he was willing to believe to other.

“You want us to be reunited, Takanori, don’t deny it.” said the blond, smiling at him wickedly.

“You’ve your own conscience, I can tell that you think differently from me, how can I be sure I want you to be able to control me?” frowned the brunet.

“Really now? You’re not going to make me believe that you aren’t somewhat evil. I know what you did, what you’re planning. I wonder how the coven, how your mother and Kouyou, would react if they knew.” smirked the golden-eyed teenager.

Takanori’s eyes widened, taken aback.

“Don’t act all innocent, you even managed to fool yourself. It’s amazing how your brain works, you actually are going insane.” chuckled the blond.

The brunet stared down at his feet, entwining his fingers, not knowing what to say. Everything he said was true, there was no way Takanori could deny something.

“Poor Aoi, he’ll have to burry someone else he cares about if you don’t take a decision very soon.” hummed the blond.

Takanori’s head shot up at those words.

“Don’t look so shocked, sweetie.” he cooed, smiling in a sweet, sickening way. “By tomorrow morning you’ll have lost your mind, although people will think that it’s because of the pain you’ll be going through, because you know it’s going to hurt, don’t you?”

The brunet bit his lower lip, looking everywhere but at the other.

“Do you remember how it went with Mayumi?”

Takanori gritted his teeth, shaking his head violently. He didn’t want to remember that day, but his memory had been triggered and soon he could see and hear things as if they were happening again. The screams, both from Mayumi and her family as they tried to calm her down. How the high priestess and the elders had suddenly barged in and tried to sooth the pain, which, indeed, wasn’t the cause of all those screams and impenetrable ramblings. Somehow the brunet could feel how the girl felt at the time. He had tried to tell them what was truly happening, but the adults had just brushed it off and told him to go out. What was happening was so different from what they thought. The truth was that Mayumi’s mind couldn’t stand to be incomplete anymore, that was the reason why she seemed to have lost her sanity, and maybe actually really had. Takanori could perfectly remember how her behaviour changed from time to time before her condition had worsened, it was as if there were two different people in one body.

“Other witches manage to live with the seal because they draw magic from everything around them, but it’s not the same for dead witches, you know that now, don’t you?” asked the blond, looking at his nails.

“The little magic we have left after a part of us is sealed, is used to maintain the seal.” whispered the brunet.

“Exactly, and we don’t have the power to obtain it from nature because what would make us true witches is sealed.”

Takanori slowly nodded, letting himself fall on the floor.

“You aren’t a witch though.” frowned the brunet.

The blond smiled at him, revealing his sharp teeth, a slight glint of mischief in his eyes.

“Oh no, I’m way more than that.” he replied.

“I wouldn’t be a witch anymore if I broke the seal then.”

“You’re wrong, just look at Aoi. He’s still a witch, although I can sense that what’s inside of him is actually different from us.” said the blond, looking contemplative now.

“What do you mean?”

“You should ask him to show you his true self, but I think he’s more bestial.” smirked the golden-eyed boy.

Takanori frowned, wondering what that could possibly mean. Bestial? He stared at the blond, trying to find out any hint of what that could possibly mean, but nothing showed on the other’s face. He just kept on smirking, his eyes gleaming with mischief. Takanori couldn’t figure the blond out, what was he? As he had said, they were actually one, the only thing keeping them apart was the seal, but the brunet couldn’t even sense a bit of his true self’s nature. The blond’s teeth were sharp, something that disturbed the brunet. What kind could possibly have teeth like that? His eyes looked as if they were made of liquid gold with thin, vertical pupils, like a cat’s or even a snake’s. Now that he looked at the other more carefully, he noticed that his nails looked like claws, painted in black. He had a petite figure, just like Takanori, but his aura was way more imposing and threatening. What could he possibly be?

_“Taka!”_

The brunet looked up at the ceiling, confused. Where had that voice come from? The whole room started shaking, making him fall on the ground. He winced as his back collided with a wall he had no idea was behind him.

“It seems like someone’s trying to wake you up.” sighed the blond, seemingly unaffected by the tremor.

“I’m not done with you, I still have questions.” groaned Takanori, trying to stand up, leaning on the wall.

“Those will be for another time. But remember, by tomorrow morning it will be too late.” said his double, looking awfully sad at the moment.

Everything turned black all of a sudden. The brunet called for the other, although not knowing how to exactly call him, but he received no reply, only silence and darkness. Where could he possibly be now? What was happening to him? The quake had stopped, but the dead silence enveloping him now wasn’t any better. A shiver ran down his spine, he had a bad feeling. He froze as he noticed something gleaming just for an instant not far from him. He looked around, his eyes wide with fear.

_“Wake up, Taka!”_

He blinked a few times. He screwed up his eyes because of the light.

“Thank gods, you’re awake.”

He looked up to lock eyes with Kouyou.

“What are you doing here?” he frowned.

“I just wanted to check up on you.” replied the honey blond, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Kouyou, how do I have to say it for you to understand?” groaned Takanori, throwing his right arm over his eyes.

The tall witch didn’t say anything, he just stared at the brunet, wondering what was going on in his mind. The honey blond knew that he should have stayed away from Takanori, but he was worried, for Nanami to come and seek help in Akira… She was a proud woman, coming from a wealthy and important family in the coven, never would she ask for help, but there she was, almost begging his best friend to look after the brunet.

“Your mum came earlier.” he finally said.

Takanori quickly sat up, not believing it. Why would his mother come to school? She had nothing to do here.

“She asked Akira to watch over you.” began to explain the honey blond.

“Why?”

“She’s worried about you, and so am I. Taka, what happened to you last night? She said you were hurt.”

The brunet looked away, gripping the sheets of the bed. He didn’t want to tell anyone about it, Aoi knew everything and that was enough. Even his mother wasn’t aware of the whole situation, and that was for the best.

“She thinks that what’s happening to you is the same that happened to Mayumi.” murmured Kouyou.

Takanori bit his lower lip, glancing at his ex-boyfriend.

“I’m sorry.”

The brunet quirked an eyebrow up when he heard that.

“Sorry for what?” he asked.

The honey blond looked up and stared into the other’s blue eyes, a small, sad smile tugging at his bow-shaped lips.

“I should have seen that you felt unwell, as your boyfriend I should have been there for you.”

Takanori huffed at that.

“Kouyou, I never was okay, and you perfectly know that. I told you so many times… Yet you always brushed things off, so don’t apologise for something you’re actually not sorry about. You don’t behave like yourself, you’re too sweet for the guy I used to know.” growled the brunet, glaring at the honey blond.

“I’m trying to change.” replied the tall witch.

“Then don’t! I didn’t fall in love with a sweetheart, and I never will. I was okay with your asshole personality because you actually were a loving guy with me, and you respected me. But that was wrong, I fell in love with you and convinced myself that you were nice, when you never were.” retorted the blue-eyed witch. “I fooled myself.”

“Taka…”

“Just be yourself goddammit!” yelled the brunet. “Or else you’ll disappoint someone else again, and break their heart.”

“We could try and–”

“Shut up Kou! I’m done with you, can’t you get that? Pushing me like this won’t help, it will just worsen our already almost non-existent relationship!” cut him off the small witch.

The honey-blond teenager stared at his former lover in shock, not believing it. Never had Takanori reacted this way, never had he been so self-assured in his words and never would have he dared to yell at anyone. Kouyou had a hard time recognising the boy he used to love, and against all logic, he somehow felt even more attracted to this side of the blue-eyed witch. He could find a challenge in him, an equal partner, someone who would stand up to him. He never really was attracted to obedient people, they were just good enough for him to manipulate them, do what he wanted with them until he got bored and then, he would push them away. Takanori had been an exception, maybe because Kouyou actually could feel that deep down, the brunet was a feisty one. But he knew that right now, he was going too far, if he continued on this path, he would only make Takanori hate him even more, and that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to win him over again, and this time it would be more complicated than three years ago.

Kouyou stood up, slightly chuckling.

“Taka, you really want me to be myself with you? You won’t like it, you know it.” smirked the honey blond.

“Fuck off, Kou, I’m not going to be nice with you either, I’m done being the defenceless, little lover you used to have.” snarled the brunet.

“So be it, but you should be careful.”

Takanori frowned, not understanding what it meant. He was about to retort when he felt lips crashing on his own. His eyes went wide as the honey-blond witch roughly kissed him. He tried to push him away, but the feeling of those lips on his was heavenly, he just couldn’t deny it. He wrapped his arms around Kouyou’s neck, deepening the kiss as he parted his lips. He felt one of other witch’s hands sliding under his shirt, and that was when he snapped out of it, not believing he had given in. He pushed the honey blond away, growling at the same time.

“You should learn to fight off, right now I could do whatever I want with you, and you know that.” said Kouyou, licking his lips.

“Get the hell away from here!”

Kouyou winked at the brunet and walked out of the room, laughing at how he had reacted.

Takanori let himself fall back on the bed, groaning at the same time. He still could feel pleasure burning inside of him. This was going to be harder than he thought. The honey-blond witch was behaving exactly how he normally would, the brunet was certain the other wouldn't fake anything anymore, and right now, he wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with such a guy. Kouyou was the kind to get everything he wanted, no one could resist him, not for long.

“What the hell got into me?” whined the brunet, rolling in the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I finally updated Kuchizuke! Sorry for taking so much time, I had a student job the two weeks of Easter holidays and it tired me and stressed me out. Somehow it made things so I didn't get any inspiration, or, if I were to write in such a mood, things would become pretty angsty, but in the wrong way.
> 
> Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. A lot is revealed, I think.
> 
> The next fic I'll try to update is DEVOURING ONE ANOTHER, but I really have a hard time with that one, and I actually need to rewrite it a bit so...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet stood in front of the large mirror in the bathroom, staring at his pale, fragile body. He had been home for an hour and had spent the whole time locked in there. He had convinced his mother to go out after work, to spend some time with her friends, so she wouldn’t be home before a few hours. He wanted to be alone, he needed it. He needed to think about everything that was happening.

The decision he had to take… How could he possibly make up his mind with so little time? Sure, he had thought about breaking his seal for a long time, but to actually do it… And how would he hide it? He wasn’t exactly ready to be banished. He would have to give up on everything, his family, his friends, the coven… But on the other hand, he would finally have what he had always dreamt of: magic.

He groaned and let himself slide down the wall behind him, closing his eyes. He listened as water filled the bathtub, sighing softly.

“You know what to do, there’s no time to hesitate.”

His eyes snapped open as he heard that voice. He locked eyes with gleaming, golden orbs. The boy was crouching in front of him, smirking at him, revealing the tip of his sharp teeth.

“I’m not asleep, how come I can see you?” frowned Takanori.

“Look at your hands.”

The brunet frowned and looked at his hands. His eyes widened as he noticed the marks from before on them.

“These come from the seal, they will keep on appearing, until you break it.”

Takanori waited, feeling like the blond still had something to say.

“Or until you die.”

The witch tilted his head back, heaving a sigh. He should have expected that, the blond was straightforward, and the brunet actually knew that if he didn’t break the seal, he would end up, no matter what, in the grave.

He stood up and got into the bathtub, sighing in relish as he felt his muscles relax with the heat. He faintly smiled, he needed this, although it reminded him of things he had to forget now. It was in the past, everything would be actually. If he broke his seal, he would start everything anew. He wouldn’t keep on with the behaviour he had had for the past few years.

“You have to cast _Sanguineum Vinculum_ soon, Takanori. I’m trying to hold back, but it isn’t that easy.” sighed the blond, rubbing the back of his head.

“To hold back?” asked the brunet, his eyebrows knitted.

“I’m sort of responsible for what’s happening to you…” replied the golden-eyed boy, looking away.

“What do you mean?”

“Your true nature, which is represented by me, feels that your condition is weakening, so it takes advantage of it by trying to break through the walls created by the seal.” explained the blond, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

The brunet stared blankly ahead, trying to let everything sink in. To make it simple, what was inside of him was killing him.

“You’re rotting, Takanori. You threw up black blood, you spilled black tears… Everything is rotting inside of you, so am I.” continued the blond.

“What do you mean?” asked the brunet, still not looking at the other.

“Look at me, see what I’m becoming.”

Takanori glanced at the blond from the corner of the eye and froze. What was happening to him? His hair was slowly turning black and it was growing longer. His eyes were taking a reddish colour, the white turning as black as ink. His skin seemed to get even paler than before, but this complexion looked like the one someone sick would have. Something black was dripping from the corner of his lips as well as from his eyes and ears.

“I’m fighting it off, this is the result. I’m decaying too.” explained the now-black-haired teenager, seemingly not bothered by the black liquid that was slowly staining his clothes.

The brunet touched the other’s face with his fingertips. This was all because of him, even his true self was ready to wait for him to take a decision, even if it meant to suffer and rot from within.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I depended on you. If you die, I die too. We’re meant to be one, but the coven decided otherwise.” said the raven, pushing the witch’s hand away.

“I can’t stop myself from wondering what will happen once I break the seal, I don’t even know what you are…” whispered Takanori.

He licked his fingers and winced at the metallic taste. This was blood, the raven was bleeding.

“You have every right to be wary.” sadly smiled the other. “I can’t tell you what I am, you’ll discover that the moment we’re one, but just know that you’ll be able to make almost anyone comply with your will.”

“That’s impossible.” retorted the brunet, frowning.

“Nothing is impossible.” smirked the raven.

Takanori stared at the other. He had the feeling that something was off, something was wrong with his double, other than the state he was in. He normally wouldn’t behave this way, Takanori was quite sure of this. He had met his true self once only, but that meeting had made him understand that the raven was what he never had been until now: deceiving. If he were a real person, in flesh and bone, he would manage to fool everyone, and not many people would actually see it. His true self was a demon, he was quite sure of it. The eyes, the teeth… Everything about him made the brunet think about demons, although he didn’t know what kind he was.

“You seem awfully nice and honest, that’s not like the demon I met earlier. Are you trying to manipulate me?” questioned Takanori.

“I don’t need to answer, you’re the one putting yourself in danger here, I could just stop fighting off and kill you directly.” replied the red-eyed teenager.

The brunet gaped at the other.

“I’m trying to save us, if you haven’t noticed. You’re the one bitching around, whining about how it hurts and how hesitant you are, doing nothing to improve things.” coldly said the raven, glaring at the brunet. “If you don’t want to live, just say it, it will make things easier for everyone.”

Takanori looked down, noticing that his black marks were spreading to his arms and chest. He had to decide now, it was already the evening, and according to his double, by the morning he would be gone. He couldn’t keep on hesitating, he wanted to live, he wanted to discover how it felt like to have magic, he wanted to get outside, to discover the world. He had too many things to achieve within the coven too, he couldn’t just give up now.

“I’ll do it.” he said.

The raven smirked, revealing his sharp teeth stained with black blood.

“You can’t go back afterwards.”

“I know.”

“Well then…”

The red-eyed teenager stood up and entered the bathtub, the water slowly turning black as blood kept on trickling in it. The brunet shivered as he noticed the dagger the other had in hand, where did it come from?

“This is a blood ritual, it’s not harmless.” said the raven, noticing the other’s reaction.

“I know, it’s just… Until now it was just in books, now…” trailed off the brunet.

“It’s becoming real.” continued the other.

Takanori nodded.

“You know the spell, say it while I take care of the rest.”

“Will it work? I’m deprived of magic right now.” asked the brunet.

“Don’t worry about that, somehow our situation helps.” just said the raven. “Close your eyes and start.”

The brunet closed his eyes and began whispering the spell.

“This will hurt, but it’s normal, just keep on going. Don’t open your eyes, no matter what.”

Takanori wondered what the other meant until he felt something pierce his right wrist. An ear-splitting scream left his lips as he felt the blade slice his whole arm until the shoulder. By the time his other arm was opened, his breathing had turned shallow. He could feel his blood dripping from the wounds, but slowly he started feeling numb, not even feeling it anymore. He wanted to open his eyes, but his double’s voice rang in his ears, he had told him not to open the eyes.

He could feel his strength leaving him. He knew that _Sanguineum Vinculum_ was a dangerous spell, but never had he thought it would go that far. He knew how it ended, what to do to completely cast it, but he didn’t know it would go that far during it. Was he meant to bleed so much? He was quite sure he was bleeding to death, but he kept casting the spell. He was reaching the end of it.

“ _I give myself to you, for we are meant to be one. Blood and soul forever united, merged into one being._ ” both the teenagers whispered.

Takanori felt the other hover over him, their foreheads touching. The brunet opened his eyes and met the other’s. One of his irises was golden, while the other was blood red.

“Nobody can get in our way anymore.” whispered the raven, slowly disappearing, handing the dagger to the other.

The brunet smiled softly, until another screech escaped from his lips. He felt as if his blood was boiling in his veins, his bones breaking. He didn’t know where to look, or what to think. His mind was blank. The raven was gone. He was all alone in a bath full of blood.

He didn’t know how long he had been staring into blank space, but at some point Takanori closed his eyes and slowly let himself slide under water. He exhaled and let water slip through his lips. There was one last thing to do for the spell to be completed, and he had to do it now before everything wore off. He smiled, bringing the dagger to his neck, knowing that he had finally achieved what he had always dreamt about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it is really short, but I couldn't make it any longer. I wanted to write this part now so... And I wanted to end it there, I could have made it longer with Takanori's day at school, but I didn't feel like writing more about that.  
> Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed it. Can you guess what Taka could possibly truly be? A creature that makes people do what it wants (with its voice I'd say, though here it won't alway be that way)... I let you think about it~


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

He opened is eyes and jerked up, gasping for air.

“Holy shit…” he croaked, rubbing his eyes.

He coughed and spat water, hugging his body to control the spams. It was close, he knew that he almost hadn’t come back, he had felt it, he still could feel it actually. A few more seconds and his mother would have found his dead body in the bathtub, definitely assuming that he had committed suicide.

He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the water, it was pitch black because of the blood. Takanori scrunched up his nose in disgust and stepped out of the bathtub to empty it. He slightly touched his neck, smirking as he felt nothing under his fingertips, no scar at all. He walked to the large mirror and tilted his head to the side, taking in his new appearance. His hair was still brown, but the tips were blond, probably the result of being united with his true nature. Other than that, he had all of his double’s features: golden eyes with thin pupils, sharp teeth and black, long nails, similar to claws. He frowned as he noticed something on his right thigh. He turned sideways and groaned, he had a mark there, as if he had been branded.

“Great… It had to be there.”

He had read in one of the grimoires he had borrowed from the coven’s library that people who broke their seals were sometimes marked, which helped the so-called pure witches to discover the traitors. In his case it had appeared on his right thigh and looked like a crescent moon with a tribal symbol in the middle of it, although he didn’t know where it came from, nor what it meant. He barely touched it and couldn’t hold back a whimper, it hurt. How could it hurt that much when his arms and neck had completely healed from being sliced?

He shook his head, heaving a sigh. He knew it could happen, he would just have to deal with it until the pain faded away. He stared once again at his reflection and took a strand of his hair between his fingers. He couldn’t go out looking like this, he had to look like he always did.

Takanori bit his lower lip, looking around. He was about to open the cabinet when it dawned upon him. He had magic now, he could just use his power to change his appearance.

“I’ll have to get used to this.” he chuckled, snapping his fingers.

Slowly, his body went back to its former state, although the brand stayed as well as his new hair colour. He still smiled, quite satisfied with the result, and headed to the shower to have a wash. He didn’t really need to change his hair colour, he could just say he wanted to have a small change, people wouldn’t suspect anything. He would just have to be careful with his mark, making sure that nobody would see it.

Takanori sniffed and groaned in disgust, he could smell the horrible, metallic stench of blood lingering in the bathroom. He would have to air the room once he was done. His mother couldn’t discover what he had done after all. She might have loved him as he was her son, but that didn’t change the fact that she couldn’t hide the fact that he had broken the coven’s most sacred rule. No matter how carefree she could be, she still cared about her status in their society, and she didn’t want to bring shame to their family, so if she were to find out, she would directly report him to the high priestess. The woman probably wouldn’t make it public though. Now that he thought about it, as he now had his true self’s perception of things, he knew that the high priestess behaved differently around him, she treated him differently. She wouldn’t want to put him through what all the other traitors had to endure. But he still didn’t want to leave the coven, not yet at least.

He somehow pitied his former self for being so oblivious, he maybe even hated himself for that. He hadn’t noticed anything until very late, while his true self had seen everything, sometimes only guessing, but he still was right, each time. If Takanori had managed to talk to him earlier, he would have known that what was locked inside of him never had trusted Kouyou, always had suspected the other of not being what he let the brunet see. Of course Takanori was to blame too in this case, he had convinced himself that the honey-blond witch was a good guy when he actually wasn’t, and everybody around him knew that, they just didn’t want to hurt the brunet, the boy already having enough to deal with.

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the water splash his face. He hummed, feeling awkwardly good. Why had he even hesitated? Breaking his seal was the best thing he could ever do, he now understood how Aoi felt.

“Taka?”

The brunet stiffened as he heard his name being called.

“Are you in the bathroom?”

 _Akira_? What was he doing here?

His blue eyes widened when he saw the doorknob moving. The blond entered the room but froze as he laid eyes upon the brunet. Takanori didn’t move either, not knowing what to do. It was too late to hide, and he was quite sure that the other had noticed his brand. He was about to say something when he noticed a smirk stretching the bleached-blond teenager’s lips. He closed the door behind him and walked to the brunet.

“You did it.”

Takanori turned around to completely face the blond. He frowned as he noticed how close the other was to him, he had almost stepped in the stall. He took a few steps back when he noticed that the other’s eyes were wandering to his thigh, he had to stop when he hit the tiled wall with his back.

“It’s not what you think.” he mumbled, although he didn’t sound convincing at all.

“Stop it, Taka, you’re not the first one to break a seal.”

The brunet tilted his head to the side, confused. He blinked a few times seeing the blond taking off his t-shirt.

“What are you doing?”

Akira didn’t reply, he just turned around, revealing his back. The brunet’s eyes widened, not believing what he saw. Was this for real? He hesitantly brought his hands up and brushed his fingers against the blond’s back, going up to his shoulder blades. Right between them was a tribal brand with what seemed to be flames devouring it.

“You broke your seal too…” he whispered, unable to take his eyes off the other’s mark.

“Before coming back to the coven, yeah.” replied the blond.

“How come no one noticed it?” asked the brunet, his eyebrows knitted together.

Akira turned to face the other, smiling at him mischievously.

“Why would anyone notice?” he replied.

“Isn’t your magic different from before though?”

“It is, but they don’t know that.”

Takanori hummed in response, slightly nodding. Akira wasn’t raised in the coven only, he had lived outside of it for a while, in another city on the other side of the country. He had come back four years ago, after six years of absence. Never would have the brunet imagined that the blond had broken his seal, he always had had what he wanted after all, and he had magic, so there wasn’t any specific reason to do this.

“Not everybody is for the high priestess’s policy, Taka.” said Akira, as if he had heard the other’s thoughts.

“What do you mean?” asked the brunet, giving the other a puzzled look.

“My parents made me break my seal.” explained the blond.

“You can’t be serious…”

“Why do you think they still live there, when I’m here?” asked Akira, locking eyes with the brunet.

Takanori stared into the blond’s chocolate-brown eyes, feeling his throat getting dry. They had been casted out, hadn’t they? That was why Akira was so willing to help the brunet with what he was doing, he didn’t support the witches here either. He held a grudge against them, the same way Aoi most likely did, although they both hid it well.

It was common knowledge that Aoi had broken his seal, but the school was outside of the coven’s walls, which meant out of the high priestess and the elders’ reach. Moreover, the raven witch didn’t live here either, no one could do anything to prevent him from doing whatever he wanted. Reita on the other hand was the son of two banished witches, but their reputation somehow didn’t stain his, everyone here thought he still had his seal, so he was more than welcomed to settle here, with his aunt.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a light touch on his thigh. He winced and tried to get away, but he was already back to the wall. The throbbing pain hadn’t left from the very beginning, but the touch worsened it, making him flinch.

“This is something I’ve never seen, what are you?” asked the bleached-blond witch, seemingly not bothered by getting soaked.

The brunet groaned, slapping the other’s hand away.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get dressed.” he said pushing the other out of his way after turning off the shower.

He grabbed two towels, throwing one to the blond, and started drying himself with the other. He put on the boxers and the large t-shirt he had taken from his wardrobe with him before locking himself in the bathroom. He stared at the other, whose clothes were also wet. He sighed and went to his bedroom, rummaging through a pile of clothes. He knew that he had some clothes that would fit the blond, he just needed to find them. He came back to the bathroom and handed a pair of sweatpants with a tank top.

The brunet looked away, nipping his lower lip. Those clothes actually were for Kouyou when he came and didn’t go back home afterwards, but now they were useless, unless you had someone as shameless as Akira around. Takanori shook his head. He had decided to start everything over, he couldn’t let his feelings for Kouyou get in the way. They were misplaced anyway, he couldn’t continue harbouring them.

He sighed and walked out of the room, going to the kitchen.

“So, mind telling me?” asked the blond, following the small witch.

Takanori glanced at him sideways as he poured himself a glass of orange juice, it’s not that he didn’t want to tell Akira, but he didn’t feel like doing it. He somehow wanted to keep his true nature to himself for now, he needed to get used to it first.

“I’d prefer not to tell anyone about it for now.” he replied before taking a gulp of his drink.

“Why? I know everything about you, more than Kouyou does, so why?” frowned the blond, leaning on kitchen counter, which was between him and the brunet.

Takanori groaned, hating how the other sounded.

“You can’t even deny it.” smirked Akira.

“Of course I can’t.” growled the brunet. “There’s nothing to say, Aki, you know it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this.” whispered the bleached-blond witch, grabbing one of the smaller one’s hands. “Kouyou never really was there for you, you had to look somewhere else for some support.”

The brunet looked down, staring at his glass. He should have felt bad for seeking help and comfort in his ex-boyfriend’s best friend, he knew it, but somehow he didn’t feel that way. As Akira had said, Kouyou had never been there for him, he pretended to listen, but that was all, he just faked interest. All he wanted from Takanori was sex, and the brunet had noticed it too late.

“I decided I would change after breaking my seal, but I still feel helpless when it comes to him.” murmured the brunet.

“No matter what you say, you still had feelings for him, and probably still have some.” said the blond, squeezing Takanori’s hand.

The brunet shook his head. He didn’t harbour feelings for Kouyou anymore, but he still felt hurt and betrayed by the honey-blond’s behaviour. He maybe was more of an asshole than a sweetheart, but who would have imagined that he would sleep with other people in Takanori’s back and even get marked by one of those whores?

He gritted his teeth, hatred creeping in his heart once again.

“We’ll do it on Saturday.” he said, looking up at the blond.

Akira frowned, looking confused by the sudden change of subject of conversation.

“Don’t look at me like that, you perfectly know what I’m talking about.” spoke the brunet, smiling wickedly.

“You’re sure you want to do it now?” asked the bleached-blond, young man.

“Yes, I don’t want to wait anymore. I may have magic now, but I still want them to go through this.” replied Takanori, taking his hand away from Akira’s grip.

“If you’re sure of your decision, alright.” smiled the taller witch.

“Also…” began the brunet, his hand trailing over the other’s chest, neck, until his face.

He leant forward, smiling in a flirtatious way at the blond.

“I want to get back at him.” he whispered.

Akira smirked, knowing what the other meant.

“It won’t be that hard.” he said, cupping the other’s face.

The brunet hummed and leant even more as the blond did the same, until their lips brushed against each other. The kiss quickly grew more heated, one of the blond’s hands snaking in the other’s neck, the other still cupping his face, as Takanori wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, despite the counter between them. The brunet moaned in Akira’s mouth as their tongues mingled together. The kiss felt needy, as if they both had been craving for such thing to happen. They stumbled away from the counter, their lip-lock not once broken as they were finally closer.

The blond wrapped one arm around the brunet’s waist, slightly lifting him up, as Takanori tightened his grip around the other’s neck. They maybe would have gone further if it weren’t for the brunet’s mother coming home, making them pull apart violently, breathless, panting heavily, trying to catch their breaths.

“Oh Akira, good evening.” greeted the raven-haired woman, smiling warmly at the bleached-blond witch.

“Good evening.” replied the teenager, still not taking his eyes off the brunet.

“Mum, you’re home early.” frowned Takanori, taking a few steps back, away from Akira.

“I have an early shift tomorrow, I’ll directly go to bed so don’t mind me boys.” she replied, winking at them.

The brunet stared at her, taken aback, as she disappeared upstairs. When he heard the door to her bedroom being closed, he turned back to Akira.

“You actually should sleep too, Taka, your body still needs to get used to your new state.” said the bleached-blond witch, a soft smile stretching his lips.

“Now that you mention it, I feel tired.” said the brunet, trying to stifle a yawn.

“I’ll grab my stuff and leave then.”

Akira went up the stairs, the small witch right behind.

“You could as well stay, it’s not like mum would mind.” offered the brunet, opening the door to his bedroom.

The blond just stared at him, not answering anything.

“Come on, one night more won’t kill you.” laughed Takanori, grabbing the other’s hand, pulling him in his room.

“Don’t complain later.” sighed Akira.

“As if.” chuckled the brunet, locking the door. “I never did, and never will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write 8 pages on Word, but it turned out slightly shorter, though still longer than the previous chapter, ahah.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, you get to know more about Akira.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet tried to roll around, but he couldn’t move. He slowly opened his eyes, groaning at the same time, and stiffened as he felt an arm wrapped around his middle, making any movement impossible. He looked up at the ceiling and the events from last night came back to him.

The sound of the other’s even breathing made him relax. He softly smiled and managed to turn around in order to cuddle up to the blond. He was going to close his eyes when the door to his room was slammed open. He shot up in bed, waking up Akira at the same time, and froze when he locked eyes with a pretty much pissed honey-blond witch.

“What’s going on, Taka?” mumbled the bleached-blond witch, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m the one who should be asking that.” growled Kouyou, not moving from the doorframe, glaring at his best friend.

Akira blinked a few times and quickly sat up when the situation dawned upon him. Takanori grabbed the duvet, bringing it up to cover their bodies, and his thigh at the same time; he couldn’t let his ex-lover see his brand.

He hadn’t expected Kouyou to come today, but maybe that was for the best, it would make things even easier than he had thought.

“What are you doing here, Kouyou?” asked the brunet, running his left hand through his hair.

“I came to see you. No matter what you think about me, I’m still worried about your state.” replied the honey blond, finally taking his eyes off Akira to look at Takanori. “But it seems like it’s not needed.”

“What did you expect? For me to stay alone while you’d screw the whole coven?” frowned the small witch.

“Well, I at least didn’t think you’d go for my best friend.” spat the other. “I thought you respected our friendship, Akira.”

The bleached-blond witch glanced at Takanori before shaking his head, looking back at Kouyou.

“Why would I show any respect to you, or any thing related to you? You didn’t respect Taka, he had to come to me to find comfort at some point, being completely abandoned by you.” replied Akira, grabbing Takanori’s free hand, the other still holding the duvet.

He knew he would have to explain to the brunet why he was ready to toss away his friendship with Kouyou, and this had nothing to do with their own relationship. No matter how they would let Kouyou see things, the brunet and the blond didn’t harbour feelings for each other, besides longing for the other’s body. They had managed to control their desire until now, only going for kisses when it was too hard to bear, but last night they hadn’t held back, nothing preventing them from giving in.

“Were you that lonely?” frowned the honey blond, folding his arms.

“I already told you, Kou. You were with me only for sex, no need to deny it.”

“Akira is just like me though, you must be a masochist to go for guys who will never feel anything for you.” smirked Kouyou.

“At least he’s been supportive.” retorted the brunet.

“As you also said before, you actually knew what you were getting yourself into when we started dating, so stop playing the victim.”

“Who said I was playing the victim? I broke up with you and I’m enjoying myself now, it’s only your loss.” Takanori shot back.

The brunet wasn’t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, or if there really had been a glint of hurt and sadness in the other’s hazel orbs. For a moment, this sight tugged at his heart, but it also was what he wanted. He wished for the honey blond to feel what he had felt when he had caught him in the act, although in this case, Kouyou had come way after. But catching Takanori and Akira in the same bed, obviously naked, might have been enough.

“What does he have more than me? And don’t tell me that it’s his support, because I tried at some point.” growled Kouyou.

The brunet smirked, laying his head on Akira’s shoulder.

“You wouldn’t understand.” simply said Takanori.

“Try me.” retorted the tall witch.

The small witch hummed, taking in the bleached blond’s scent. It was a mix of his cologne –notes of bergamot, anise and pepper– and sweat from the sex they had had the whole night.

“He has something no one else in the coven has.” sighed the brunet, staring at his ex with a blank face.

The honey bond’s eyebrows knitted together, he couldn’t quite grasp what the other meant. Something Akira was the only one to have? He was his childhood best friend, even with the distance after his parents’ banishment, they had kept in touch, telling each other everything. The bleached-blond witch would have never omitted something about him, they knew each other by heart.

Kouyou sighed, running his hand over his face. Was that even true? Never would he have imagined Akira in bed with Takanori, he hadn’t even noticed these two getting closer. They talked, but it always had seemed to the honey blond that they only wanted to be polite, after all they never talked about anything personal.

“This coven is full of cowards, Kouyou, you’re no exception.” said Takanori.

The honey-blond witch looked up at his ex-boyfriend and met defiant, blue eyes. The teenager he had in front of him wasn’t the one he had dated, once again it was proven. Already the day before he had had that feeling, and now there wasn’t any possible doubt. However, Kouyou didn’t know what had happened to Takanori, he didn’t even have a slight idea. What could have the brunet possibly done to change that much? He had never seen anyone change so drastically in a matter of a few hours. Or had he just hid the way he truly was, the same way Kouyou had? There definitely was something off about the small witch, he just couldn’t pinpoint what.

“Is that so? You’re the one who doesn’t dare break your seal, no matter how easier things would be for you afterwards.” retorted the honey blond.

Takanori had to keep himself from laughing at that remark. If only Kouyou knew…

“So? You aren’t any better, you’re the one who always told me it wasn’t worth it. Don’t tell me you take those words back.”

“What if I do?” asked the tall witch.

The brunet frowned, what did that mean? Kouyou was a coven bitch, he obeyed the high priestess and elders’ orders like a dog, never would he dare approve such thing. Breaking one’s seal was a taboo, the way students had reacted during Aoi’s class wasn’t a coincidence, it was a normal reaction. People didn’t want to talk about seals, they didn’t even want to hear about them.

“Then prove it.”

Takanori gaped at Akira, what was he doing?

“How do you want me to do so?” frowned the honey blond.

“Use your brain for once, Takashima, it can’t hurt that much.” smirked the bleached-blond witch.

The brunet’s eyes grew even wider as he heard those words leave Akira’s mouth. He couldn’t possibly imply… Did Akira want Kouyou to break his seal? Takanori couldn’t quite fathom why the blond would want it, but everything in the other’s words and behaviour led him to think that it was his goal. Was he trying to break the order the high priestess had established over the years?

He shook his head and started laughing. Why was he even shocked? Why did he begin worrying? _This_ was what he _wanted_. He wanted everyone in the coven to break, to feel what he had to go through for so many years. If Akira got his revenge at the same time, so be it.

“It’s not that hard, Kouyou, just use that poor brain of yours instead of your dick, just this one time, then you can go back to whatever you used to do.” chuckled the brunet, wrapping an arm around Akira’s neck.

“Come to us when you’re sure of what you found, it might get interesting.” added the bleached-blond witch.

The honey-blond witch stared at them with a deadpan expression, he wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn’t find the words.

“Now, if you mind...” smirked Takanori, pushing Akira down on the bed, straddling him. “I’ve better things to do than talking to you.”

Kouyou clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, if the brunet wasn’t a whore before, he definitely was turning into one now. He shook his head and turned on his heels, leaving the house as fast as he could.

Once he reached the park not far from the brunet’s house, he crouched down behind a tree and grabbed his head, groaning. He couldn’t believe this had affected him so much, he wasn’t supposed to feel something, he was meant to be the heartless bastard whom people, both women and men, still ran after, no matter how he’d use them. It couldn’t be that one single, fucking witch got under his skin so deeply. He had decided not to fall for anyone, and no matter how attracted he had been to Takanori’s defiance, it wouldn’t change. If he gave his heart to someone, it would appear as an act of weakness, and he couldn’t look weak, it was against all his family’s teachings.

The coven maybe seemed like one big family with the high priestess as the mother from an outsider’s point of view, but each family actually had its own traditions, and Kouyou’s was to stay unattached, unaffected. There never had been any feeling involved in his family, his mother and father didn’t love each other, they had married just because it seemed like they had the right features to conceive the perfect child and future head of the family. His mother still behaved that way, she made him meet girls she thought would be perfect for another heir, and Takanori was obviously out of question. First because he was a boy, second because he was a dead witch, and third because the Matsumotos and Takashimas actually always had some sort of rivalry going on between them, although Kouyou was quite sure that if Takanori had been a girl and a witch with magic, everything would have been fine. After all, that rivalry surely had been put aside when his mother had become best friend with Takanori’s when they were just little girls. He didn’t quite understand his family’s logic, but he was still no one to question it.

He bit his lower lip, keeping in a scream that suddenly threatened to escape. He felt like his insides were being torn, what could it possibly be? His heart clenched, making him growl. He wrapped his arms around his body and let himself fall on the ground, his back leaning against the tree trunk.

“What the hell did you do to me?” he muttered, staring at his shaky legs.

He couldn’t feel anything at all in his lower body, and it scared him. This reminded him of something he preferred to forget, he didn’t want this to happen to him too.

“Don’t fucking give up now.” he growled, slamming his head back on the tree.

He knew what he had to do, and right now, he could only hope nobody would witness it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, you get some of Kouyou's thoughts here! What do you think is happening to him now?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“Is there a problem between you and Kouyou?” the brunet asked.

He was doing his makeup while Akira was putting on his clothes. They had to go to school, although they would be two hours late.

This was the first time Takanori ever skipped school, even for a few hours, and he knew that the teachers as well as the high priestess and the elders would scold him. He was a year younger than the others, he had skipped a year when he was ten years old, and since then, all of the high priestess’ hopes had been on him. He didn’t really know what she expected from him, what she wanted him to do after high school, but he knew that she had some plans prepared for him. However, he wouldn’t follow her orders this time. Things were changing, and he didn’t believe in the coven anymore. He knew that one day, he would leave for good.

“Why are you asking me this?” asked Akira, bringing him back to Earth.

“All the things you said to him made me think that you hold something against him, though I’ve no idea what.” explained Takanori before painting his plump lips in red.

“Oh, that…”

The blond walked to the brunet and put his hands on his hips, bringing him closer to him. He faintly smiled as he noticed through the mirror the confusion in Takanori’s blue eyes, which were looking everywhere but at him.

“The high priestess and the elders think I don’t know, but it actually was Kouyou’s family that reported my parents.” said Akira, laying his chin on the brunet’s left shoulder.

“What? Why? How did they even know what your parents did?” asked the small witch, his eyes widening in shock.

“I don’t know how they discovered, but the Takashimas have always been a family greedy for power. By telling on my parents, my family lost its influence in the coven.” explained the bleached-blond witch.

“I knew Kouyou’s family was kind of crazy, but to think that they would go that far for power…” whispered the brunet, turning around to face the other.

“You should be careful, Taka.”

He tilted his head to the side, bemused. What did Akira mean by that? He knew that he had to be careful with Kouyou, after all the honey blond actually could still do what he wanted with the brunet, Takanori couldn’t deny it. He was working on his feelings, but Kouyou could easily make him give in to any of his desire, and that was because no matter what the brunet said and tried to make himself believe, he really had been in love with the honey-blond teenager, and those feelings weren’t completely gone yet, unfortunately. He maybe despised his ex-boyfriend, but that wasn’t enough to completely kill off the love he harboured for the other, even if it was slowly disappearing. No matter how much hatred he felt, there was still this tingling sensation inside of him when he locked eyes with the honey blond.

“Your family is the only one left.”

Takanori narrowed his eyes, slowly understanding where Akira was going with this.

“The Shiroyamas left years ago, and because there isn’t a girl to create an alliance between the Matsumotos and the Takashimas, Kouyou’s family will do anything in their power to make your family fall too. Now they really can, with you having broken your seal.” continued the bleached-blond witch, tightening his grip on the small witch’s hips.

“They don’t need to know, and there’s no way they could find out. I broke up with Kouyou and mum doesn’t want to meet with Shizuka anymore, they don’t have any contact with us.” said the brunet, moving away from the other.

“They have their ways, Taka, you have to be careful. Today Kouyou almost saw your brand, as well as mine.”

“I know. I’ll find something so no one can see it.” replied the small witch, grabbing his tote bag.

Akira didn’t say anything afterwards, he simply grabbed his bag and followed the brunet out of the house. He knew that Takanori didn’t really worry about what would happen to him, he was actually quite sure that after Saturday’s show, he would leave the coven. Not immediately of course, if he did so, he would only draw suspicion on him, but not long after. The blond was thinking about doing the same too, after all he had come back to the coven only to take his revenge, and even though it had taken time, he was finally reaching his goal.

He looked up at the other witch walking a few steps ahead of him. Just by looking at him, one would notice that something had changed. Takanori’s gait was way more assertive, he held his head high and the few people they had crossed paths with had looked away directly, seemingly intimidated. The bleached-blond teenager couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at that, but at the same time, he wondered why people reacted like that. Was there something he hadn’t noticed about the other? Besides his hair colour and the brand, he looked exactly the same in Akira’s eyes.

Takanori could feel Akira’s eyes in his back, but he preferred to ignore it. He wanted to go to school as fast as possible, and thus, he didn’t want the witches he saw to talk to him. For some reason they didn’t, which was surprising because he knew that they always wanted to say something, him being part of the Matsumoto family. Each time he locked eyes with them, they quickly looked away and walked past him fast, as if they were scared or something like that. It disturbed him, but it was what he wanted so he wasn’t going to complain about it.

They were walking through the park near his house. On the other side was the bus stop to go to the school outside of the coven. Takanori frowned, slightly scratching the back of his head. He felt weird, and as they reached the pond in the middle of the park, the feeling worsened. There was something here, but he couldn’t figure out what. He looked around, wondering if he would be able to spot something.

“Is something wrong, Taka?” asked Akira.

“I’ve a weird feeling.” replied the brunet, barely heard by the blond.

“What kind of feeling?” frowned the other.

“I– _Kouyou!?_ ” exclaimed Takanori, leaving the taller witch behind as he ran somewhere.

Akira quirked an eyebrow up as he heard the small witch yell the honey blond’s name, but he soon noticed where the brunet was running to and his eyes grew wide. He blinked a few times, not wanting to believe what he saw there, but it didn’t change anything. He slowly followed the brunet, trying as much as possible not to show any emotion, although what he saw worried him.

Kouyou was lying on the ground, unconscious. Takanori was shaking him by the shoulders, yelling at him to wake up. The brunet couldn’t believe how he was feeling right now, how tears were threatening to spill at any moment.

“Wake the fuck up, you bastard!” he screamed before punching the other on the chest.

That seemed to do the trick as the honey blond opened his eyes and coughed, rubbing his head and chest.

“Who the hell punched me?” he groaned.

“He did.” answered Akira, pointing at the brunet who had already walked away to crouch down next to the pond.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be fucking like bunnies right now?” growled the honey blond, slowly sitting up.

The bleached-blond witch shook his and bent down to be at the other’s level.

“Listen to me here, Kou.” he started. “What is happening now is only _your_ fault, and you know it.”

The honey blond only glared at him in response.

“I know that you’re like this because of your family, after all the Takashimas are all assholes, but…” the blond glanced at the brunet, who still hadn’t moved from his spot. “He was about to cry right now, he still cares about you, no matter what he says and what he does.”

“He wouldn’t sleep with you if he did care about me.” retorted Kouyou.

“It’s payback, Kou, and from what I can see, it worked. You’re hurt, aren’t you?” smirked Akira.

The honey blond looked away from his best friend and focused on his former lover, who was playing with a pebble near the pond.

“You love him, but you managed to convince yourself that it wasn’t the case, that you only were playing with him and his feelings. Believe me, you did well, now he’s torn between hatred and love.” sighed the blond.

“You know that I have to stick to this role, it’s the only way my family knows how to live, and if I were to show just a hint of emotion...” whispered the other.

The blond nodded in understanding, patting the other’s thigh. Right now he had to put his desire for revenge aside, he had seen how scared Takanori had been and he couldn’t just break him even more than Kouyou had already done. He still would try to push Kouyou to break his seal, as it was his goal, but not for now. First he had to be taken care of. Luckily his wound didn’t bleed anymore, but it still had to be tended.

“What happened to you anyway? There’s blood.” asked Akira, looking at Kouyou’s back of the head, then at the tree and the ground.

“I don’t really want to talk about it now, though I can’t stay in the coven, my family can’t find out about what’s happening to me.” replied Kouyou, trying to stand up.

“I know the perfect place.” said Takanori, who appeared next to the honey bond to help him up.

Akira raised an eyebrow.

“Are you taking him there?” he asked, slightly surprised.

“Where else? I know we won’t be bothered. Kai is out of the country for god knows what and Aoi comes on Mondays and Fridays only.” shrugged the brunet.

“And you want to walk until there? Kouyou can barely make a step without falling.” chuckled the blond, helping the smaller witch to carry the other.

“Don’t be a jerk, Aki.” huffed the brunet.

“Sorry.” replied the bleached-blond boy, although not stopping to giggle.

Takanori shook his head, smiling softly. He looked around and noticed that there wasn’t anyone, the park was empty.

“Why not use magic?” smirked the brunet, locking eyes with Akira.

“What magic?” frowned Kouyou. “You don’t have any power, Taka.”

Takanori just smiled at him wickedly, noticing from the corner of the eye Akira nodding in agreement.

“You’d be surprised.” he whispered in the honey blond’s ear.

The small witch closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. He knew all the spells by heart as he had been forced to take Spells class, and now it would definitely come in handy. He felt getting lighter and lighter, and as he looked down at his body, he noticed that their legs had completely disappeared. He pictured the place he had been talking about and in a few seconds they were there, standing in the middle of the living room. He let Kouyou sit down on the couch as he smiled widely at Akira.

“Now you won’t complain about the high priestess’ decision to make you attend Spells class.” said Akira, ruffling the brunet’s hair.

“I never thought I’d manage to use this spell as my first big one.” replied Takanori, rubbing his left arm.

“Well, you’re definitely good at it.”

“It hurts though.” mumbled the brunet, looking down at his thigh as he felt his brand burning.

“It will pass, don’t worry.” said the blond as he walked out of the room to get the first-aid kit in the hallway.

Takanori sat down next to Kouyou, a feeling of uneasiness slowly taking the upper hand on all the others. By doing this, he completely ignored Akira’s warning about the Takashimas’ will to cast out his family from the head of the council. The coven had the high priestess as the leader, assisted by the elders, but there also was the council, which was made of the most important families in the coven. The Shiroyamas used to be at the head of it, but after they had left, Takanori’s family had taken the lead, with the Suzukis right behind, and then the Takashimas. It was common knowledge that Kouyou’s family wanted the Matsumotos’ place, but they couldn’t do anything about it, especially that it was the high priestess and the elders who had decided to give the power to Takanori’s family.

“How did you do this?” asked Kouyou, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.

Takanori glanced at him before moving to the opposite side of the couch, as far as possible from his ex-lover. He brought up his legs to his chest, hugging them, and looked away.

“Guess.” murmured the brunet.

Kouyou stared at the small brunet, his eyes slowly growing wide as it dawned on him.

“You broke your seal?” he asked, bewildered.

Takanori only nodded before hiding his face.

“Why? I know you felt out casted for your lack of magic, but you didn’t seem to think about it seriously.” frowned the honey blond, moving closer to the other.

“I was dying.” said the brunet, almost choking on his words.

Kouyou pressed his lips in a thin line before taking the brunet in his arms, taking him by surprise. Takanori tried to push him away, but he slowly lost all strength to fight off and let himself be hugged by the other, hiding his face in the crook of Kouyou’s neck.

“The high priestess condemns us to die by creating a seal, I was dying because of my lack of magic…” whispered Takanori, hugging Kouyou back and clenching his shirt on his back.

“Your injuries, your behaviour changing… It was because of your state?” asked the honey blond.

“Yes. Now that I’m finally reunited with my other half, I don’t need to fear that kind of death anymore, but if anyone finds out what I did…” he trailed off.

The honey blond didn’t say anything, knowing perfectly what the other didn’t want to say. He rubbed Takanori’s back in a soothing way, taking into account Akira’s words. Maybe he had to leave his family’s teachings behind and finally be how he truly would be without the fear of his family disowning him. But was it even worth it now? Even if the blond had said that Takanori still had feelings for him, he also had said that he now hated him too. There was no way the brunet would ever forgive him for what he had done, he barely could himself. He wasn’t even sure he was ready to give up on the asshole personality he had forged for himself. He had taken care of Takanori in the beginning of their relationship, loving him, but the situation had quickly escalated as his family had begun pressuring him to leave the brunet and find someone else, someone who wouldn’t ask for their feelings to be returned. His mother getting involved had ruined everything, and Kouyou had started to neglect his little lover, using him only to satiate his own desires and needs.

He was about to say something when Takanori pushed him away and stood up, looking in the hallway direction.

“Aki, you okay?”

“Fine, it’s just a mess in here. I thought Kai would be more of neat freak.” chuckled the bleached-blond witch, striding back in the living room.

“Ah that… Actually it’s Aoi, Kai hasn’t come back for a while now, and they live somewhere else anyway so…” replied the brunet, scratching the back of his neck.

Takanori observed the blond walking behind Kouyou to check his wound. The brunet couldn’t stop himself from wondering what could have possibly happened to Kouyou. Had he smashed his head on the tree? There was blood on the trunk after all, so it would be the most logical answer, but why? Why would the honey blond do that? He had appeared to be scared when he had asked them not to take him to his family, but instead out of the coven. What was he hiding?

The brunet looked away when he noticed that the honey blond’s gaze was set on him.

“After Akira’s done with you, go rest in the guest room.” mumbled Takanori, walking out of the room to the kitchen.

He poured himself a glass of water and drank it down in one. He sat at the counter and stared blankly ahead. He didn’t like how Kouyou was staring at him. The honey blond most likely pitied him now, if he even felt anything. And what was that hug anyway? It had taken the brunet by surprise, and even if he had wanted to get out of the other’s embrace at first, he finally had given up, drowning in the feeling of safety Kouyou’s arms gave him. It scared him how at times, he felt safe around the tall witch, and how at other times, he dreaded to even be touched by him.

He sighed heavily and laid his head on the counter, closing his eyes. Kouyou had broken him in more than one way. Who would normally be frightened by their boyfriend after all? Those times the other forced himself on him, Takanori wasn’t sure he would ever forget them, he would have to live with them, and not give his heart to anyone anymore.

The brunet stood up and walked back to the living room to see that Kouyou and Akira weren’t there anymore. He sat on the couch and took out a grimoire from his bag, opening it at the page he had marked.

“It will soon be over.” he whispered, reading the spell once again, even though he now knew it by heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're slowly reaching the end of this fic as it should be around 15 chapters. It seriously feels weird because I actually never managed to end a fic, even when I wrote in French.
> 
> Anyway, what do you think Takanori is planning to do? Knowing that Akira is helping him. You have to take into account both of their desires to get revenge to find it, although I think it's quite easy to guess.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“What did you do to him?”

The honey blond glanced at Akira when he heard his question. He sat on the double bed and shook his head, heaving a sigh.

“He clearly was uncomfortable, he literally ran out of the room once I was back.” continued the blond, closing the door, and then leaning against it, his arms crossed.

“He told me what he did.” replied Kouyou.

The standing witch raised an eyebrow in astonishment, he didn’t expect Takanori to tell Kouyou everything. Sure, the honey blond would have come to the conclusion that the brunet had broken his seal, but never had Akira imagined that Takanori would just admit it, especially after what the blond had told the brunet about the Takashimas.

“And I hugged him.” ended the honey blond.

Akira gaped at his best friend, not believing it. It wasn’t surprising that the brunet had wanted to leave the room has soon as possible afterwards. Takanori was still trying to figure out his feelings, being hugged by his ex-boyfriend wouldn’t help him to understand how he felt, it would only confuse him more.

“He tried to push me away, but I think he also needed it.” murmured Kouyou, entwining his fingers.

“He clearly took it for pity, Kou.” said Akira, sitting next to his best friend.

The honey blond glanced at the bleached-blond witch, puzzled.

“Don’t play dumb with me, you made him believe you didn’t love him.” sighed the teenager.

“It wasn’t pity, Aki.” retorted Kouyou.

The blond locked eyes with his best friend, wondering if he truly meant it. Akira knew that the Takashimas could be deceiving, only faking their emotions, when they just didn’t decide to be cold towards everything. Kouyou wasn’t exactly like his family, at least not before. He used to show some feelings that were normally forbidden by his family’s teachings, however he had changed a year ago, and Takanori was the only one who hadn’t noticed it, or who had ignored it. The honey-blond witch always played with people and their feelings, he was known to be quite of an arsehole, but he had always managed to take care of the brunet, and had truly loved him at some point, Akira knew it. When Kouyou felt something for real, it most likely showed, he had a hard time hiding it. He had started lying to himself though, just as Takanori had. While Takanori convinced himself that Kouyou was a good guy, the most perfect one he could find, the honey blond made himself believe that he didn’t love the small witch.

“I love him.” whispered the honey blond, grabbing his head, his elbows propped on his knees.

Akira couldn’t keep himself from snorting.

“Are you saying this so I’ll let you fuck with him again?” he asked, glaring at the honey blond.

“No, Aki, you know me well enough to know that I’m not lying.” replied Kouyou, straightening up to look at his best friend.

“That’s the thing, Kou, I’m not sure I still know you.” retorted the blond, massaging his forehead.

The honey blond pressed his lips in a thin line, knowing that Akira had every right to be suspicious. Kouyou’s behaviour had changed a year ago, feeling like he didn’t have the choice anymore and had to comply with his family’s orders, having disappointed his parents for too long already. But was it even still worth it? With what was happening to him… His family would disown him if they heard about it, he perfectly was aware of it. Why bother trying to be what they wanted when he knew that anyway, he would let them down? He could still manage to hide it with some spells, but he knew that at some point, his aura would change. It was a common thing to happen in his family, but he knew that there was something different about him that made things more difficult. They couldn’t deal with his state the same way they usually did with the other members, and from what he knew, the way they would deal with him would equal torture this time.

“There is something in my family.” he began, letting himself fall on his back.

Akira quirked an eyebrow up, curious. The honey blond barely talked about what was going on in his family, so if he wanted to open up about it, the blond would definitely listen. It might as well be something he could use against them later on.

“Our seals are naturally weak.” continued Kouyou, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know why or how that’s possible, it seems like what’s inside of us is fighting more than for other people.”

The blond frowned, wondering how something like that was possible in their coven. The high priestess cared too much about the seal to let anyone have a weak one that threatened to break at any moment.

“When we reach a certain age, the seal is renewed, and it normally lasts for the rest of our life.”

Akira could sense a “but” coming though.

“But in my case, it seems like it doesn’t work very well…” mumbled the honey blond.

“What do you mean?” asked the blond, frowning.

“My seal was already renewed twice.” replied Kouyou, looking up at his best friend.

The bleached-blond witch’s eyes widened at that revelation. Twice? Kouyou’s seal had been regenerated twice after it was created? They were only eighteen, how was that even possible? Never had he heard of something like that, never had he even imagined that such a thing was possible.

“How come?” asked Akira, his eyes set on his best friend.

“I don’t know. Nobody wants to tell me anything.” muttered the honey blond, looking away.

“And you still blindly follow them?” asked the blond, his voice sounding slightly accusatory.

“Last time was six years ago, who would defy their parents at twelve?” groaned Kouyou, running his right hand over his face.

“Last time? Are you saying that it’s happening again?”

The honey blond slowly nodded, biting his lower lip.

“That’s why we found you in such a state in the park?”

The teenager nodded once again.

“Does something trigger it or can it come at any moment?”

“I can’t remember for the first time, but last time…” started the honey blond, closing his eyes.

He didn’t feel like saying it, this was something he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, not even his closest friends. However, he had decided to talk about it so he couldn’t just back out, especially that now, his best friend wouldn’t let him do that.

“It was when Aoi was thrown out.” he breathed out.

Akira stared at Kouyou. So he had lost control over his seal when he was twelve, when Aoi had been forced to leave the coven, but that was only the second time. What could have triggered his true self the first time?

“Did you go through this when I left?” he asked, wondering if that was possible.

Kouyou stared into blank space, trying to remember what had happened the first time. For some reason he couldn’t recall it, and he was quite sure that his family, the high priestess and the elders had something to do with that. Takanori wasn’t the only one whose memory had been played with.

“Maybe, I can’t remember.” answered the honey blond, sighing.

Akira hummed in response, standing up. He stretched a bit before turning around to look at Kouyou.

“Are you going to change then?” he asked.

“Change?” frowned the honey blond, sitting up.

“Yes, change, be yourself, your true self I mean, not the jackass you let people see. And finally show Taka that you didn’t mean to hurt him the way you did.” replied Akira, rolling his eyes.

“Do I even have a chance of winning him back? I wanted to, but I don’t think he would let me have him again.”

“You wanted to get him back to have a good fuck, Kou.” sighed the blond, shaking his head in disapproval. “If you show him that you actually want to be with him for who he is, because you love him, he might give you a chance, who knows?”

Kouyou softly smiled, nodding.

“Taka needs someone to rely on. Of course he likes sex, who doesn’t? But that’s not the most important thing for him in a relationship, and you should know that after such a long time.” continued Akira.

The honey blond bit his lower lip, knowing that his best friend was right.

“You love him, you truly do, you just convinced yourself, and him at the same time, that you didn’t.” groaned the blond, shaking his head. “If you show him how you truly feel, that you’re ready to do anything for him, then maybe he’ll come back to you.”

The hazel-eyed witch looked down at the mention of his feelings. He really had fucked up, but he just thought that his family knew what would be the best for him better than he did. Now, however, he understood that such a way of thinking was wrong. They weren’t in his head, they didn’t know what he liked and disliked, they considered him as a puppet, something they would always be able to control.

“But you only have three days left.” added Akira.

The honey blond’s head shot up when he heard those words.

“If by Saturday morning you didn’t get back together, then he’ll be out of reach for you.” explained the blond, seeing how confused his best friend was.

“Why? What’s going on, Aki?” asked the honey-blond witch, standing up, staggering slightly.

He still felt weak, but he needed the blond to answer him. What was going on? What didn’t he know about his former lover? He could see that him and Akira were planning something, but he couldn’t figure out what, the two witches were so secretive about it, there wasn’t even a hint that could help Kouyou understand.

He grabbed his best friend by the shoulders, locking eyes with him.

“I can’t tell you, Kou.” replied the blond, smiling faintly.

“Why? I swear if he gets hurt I–”

“You what, Kou? You’ll make me pay?” chuckled Akira, shaking his head. “He’s the one who planned everything, I only joined when he had everything figured out.”

He pushed the other’s hands away from his shoulders.

“He knows what he’s risking, but he doesn’t care. He had enough, and I completely understand him.”

The honey blond gaped at Akira, at a loss for words.

“Being born in this coven was the worst thing that could ever happen to him, but he couldn’t choose that, nor could I for myself.” continued the blond. “We’re just going to do something that should’ve been done years ago so that people here finally open their eyes and see that the high priestess is useless and simply destroys us.”

Kouyou narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Akira. Something was different about the blond, something the tall witch only noticed now. When had his best friend started hating the coven so much? And how could he relate so much to Takanori? His ex-boyfriend had broken his seal, as far as the honey blond knew, he was the only one after Aoi.

His hazel eyes widened in shock when it dawned on him.

“You don’t have a seal.” he uttered, taken aback.

The blond simply smirked in response.

“That’s what Taka meant… We’re all cowards because we don’t dare break our seals, but you did… You have something we don’t have… You’re complete…” he mumbled, his ex-lover’s words finally making sense to him.

“If only he could see your face right now.” Akira chuckled, running his hands through his hair.

The honey blond didn’t even bother replying, letting himself fall on the bed, his head in his hands. How was he supposed to match up to Akira when he had done the one thing everyone in the coven was scared of? There was no way Kouyou could win Takanori over when the brunet would only go for someone like Akira, the honey blond knew it, he could feel it. He also had to apologise for all the things he had done, but he wasn’t even sure that would be enough for the brunet. Simple apologies would never be enough for Takanori, not after how much Kouyou had hurt him.

“I’ll let you rest now, and don’t forget, you only have three days to make a decision.” whispered Akira in his ear, patting his shoulder.

The tall witch stared at the blond as he walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He shook his head, gritting his teeth. What Akira truly meant was that he had three days to break his seal, and if he didn’t, Takanori would never change his opinion about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! After almost a month, I updated this fanfic. I honestly had a hard time getting back at writing for this one, but now it should be fine, haha. I start to wonder if this will really end around 15 chapters... We'll see ~


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“You have to stop this, Aoi.”

The raven-haired man looked up at his lover, sighing softly when he noticed the other’s concern in his eyes.

“I’m just a little tired.” replied the witch, pulling the covers over him.

“You’re not a little tired, you’re _**exhausted**_ , you can barely move.” groaned the brunet as he slipped under the covers, joining the other in their bed. “What are you even trying to achieve here, Aoi? Your seal is broken, there’s nothing else to do about yourself, you’re complete.”

“There’s something behind those seals, the high priestess is hiding something.” answered the raven, rolling on his side with a wince to face his lover. “There’s no need to seal what I truly am for example, I’m just a panther. If she had to seal what witches really are, it would be for demons like you, your species kills more than mine.”

Kai pressed his lips in a thin line at that statement. Aoi had a point here, incubi killed a lot lately, but if the raven were to look at everything on a longer period, he would see that shapeshifters like him, who were predators at birth, still were one of the biggest threats to humans and defenceless creatures like some nymphs.

Aoi wasn’t a normal shapeshifter, he couldn’t decide to be one animal one day, and another one the other day, he was born a panther and a witch, and he would stay that way. The coven the raven came from really was something else, it was the first time that Kai encountered witches who had a demonic side too. The brunet had lived long enough to know that it wasn’t right. Witches were proud people who didn’t want to mix their blood with other beings, which was one of the reasons why the covens were getting smaller over time.

The incubus glanced at his raven lover, who seemed to be dozing off. He smiled softly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the other’s ear. The state his lover was in worried Kai in a way he never had felt before. Aoi kept on doing this ritual again and again, almost every night, bleeding himself each time, to try to discover what was happening. The brunet didn’t know what this spell was, he just knew that it was as dangerous as _Sanguineum Vinculum_ , and that didn’t reassure him at all.

He knew things the raven didn’t, and maybe he should have told everything to him, but he was quite sure that it would only push Aoi to go further in his researches, which he didn’t want to happen. He only wanted to protect him from what was going on inside the coven, but the only possible way to do so would be to chain the other to keep him away from there.

Kai knew enough to say that the high priestess’ motive might have been good at first, but she was a good liar, and nobody, not even the elders, knew what she did before creating _this_ coven. In the brunet’s opinion, this coven was just another of her experiments, like the others, centuries ago, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe she had finally reached her goal, but if she had… she wouldn’t hide under the pretence of being a simple witch, when Kai clearly remembered her tracking him three centuries ago, hunting him down.

“I wonder how Takanori’s doing.”

The brunet demon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Aoi talk.

“He has to be alive, otherwise the whole coven would know that he’s dead by now.” replied Kai, staring at the ceiling.

“He didn’t come to school today, though.”

The brunet cocked an eyebrow, looking sideways at his lover.

“Nor did Akira and Kouyou.” continued the raven, his eyebrows now knitted together in concentration.

“It’s not the first time these two skip classes.” said the incubus, though he could feel that this time it had nothing to do with skipping class to have fun.

Aoi didn’t reply anything, staring at the skyscrapers he could see from their ceiling-to-floor window. Akira had to be with Takanori, the raven-haired witch was pretty sure of that. The bleached-blond teenager knew what Takanori was going through, and he knew he had to break his seal sooner or later, so he definitely was around the other. However, the raven had no idea why Kouyou was missing.

Aoi didn’t like the honey-blond witch one bit, anyone could tell that. It bothered him to know that he wasn’t at school when Takanori and Akira weren’t either. If he heard about the two witches breaking their seals, he would most likely say everything to his parents, after all he was just a puppet in their hands. In such a period of time, it was too risky to let Kouyou in, but he knew that Takanori still felt strongly about him, the brunet teenager was capable of telling everything to his ex-boyfriend.

“Aoi, don’t forget it was your decision.”

The raven frowned as he looked at his lover.

“You are the one who broke him.” said Kai, propping himself up on his right forearm.

He didn’t say anything.

“Maybe you aren’t completely yourself yet, you’re right.” sighed the brunet, his eyes starting to gleam in the dark.

The raven’s eyes widened when he noticed that. There was something wrong, Kai never used his powers on him. Incubi could use magic, although it wasn’t exactly the same as for witches, and Aoi hated it, he hated that intrusive, cold magic. It wasn’t the same as the normal warmth he felt with his own.

“You’re like Takanori, at times, just like now, you make yourself forget what you’re truly doing.”

He couldn’t look away, although he tried to, those eyes hypnotised him.

“You should cast that spell again, your seal might not be completely broken.” said the brunet. “You’re just like Takanori and your sister right now, doing and saying things, then going for the complete opposite. Anyone would think you’re insane right now.”

The raven’s heart stilled in his chest at the mention of his late sister. Kai knew Mayumi shouldn’t be brought up, he even had been the one to decide it. He hated it when this side of the incubus overpowered the usual loving, caring side of him.

“You better start owning up to what you’ve done, Aoi, I don’t need another crazy person in my life.” muttered Kai, letting himself fall back on his back. “ ** _You_** weakened Takanori’s seal, _**you**_ almost killed him. If it weren’t for me, you would be a murderer now.”

Aoi couldn’t keep a whimper in at that, which seemed to make his lover come back to his normal self. The raven really had a hard time standing that side of the brunet, that magic of his… Kai would always say what Aoi was thinking deep inside of him at these moments, his powers making it possible for him to see what others truly thought.

He let himself be hugged by the other.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, not like this.” whispered the brunet, kissing the other on the top of his head.

Never would he say he didn’t mean it, because he actually did. No matter what, that colder side of him was a part of him too, and Aoi had to learn to live with it. The raven anyway preferred people to be honest, and if Kai said he didn’t mean anything he said, then he would lie, and Aoi despised that more than anything else.

“It happens, I just need to get over it...” murmured the raven.

Sometimes, the brunet would say things crudely, the witch knew it, and there was no way he was asking Kai to change, it wasn’t even possible anyway. He had been this way for centuries, he wouldn’t change his way of behaving just for one lover.

“And you’re right, I’m the one who wanted Takanori to have his seal broken, I wanted him to suffer to some extent, just… not that far…” sighed the raven, turning around to hug the brunet back.

“Will you ever tell him what you did to him?” asked Kai, rubbing the other’s back softly.

The witch bit his lower lip, screwing his eyelids shut.

“He already suspects something.” he replied.

The incubus didn’t say a word, letting the other pause a little. They hadn’t talked for two days as he was busy with his current job. What could have possibly happened to make Takanori suspicious of Aoi’s intentions?

“I kinda forced him to talk about breaking his seal in front of the whole class.” said the raven.

Kai quirked up an eyebrow, surprised.

“I thought things weren’t moving fast enough, that’s why I thought I’d evoke that subject with the class, pushing him to talk about it as him and Akira were the only ones to know the spell.” continued Aoi. “ But I was wrong, his state had so much worsened in a few days, and it was getting worst every second right under my eyes.”

The brunet grimaced slightly, knowing in which state Takanori was. He had been the one to slightly slow it down after all.

“I noticed it only because his seal cracked.” sighed Aoi. “You really saved his life, Kai, I bet he would have died right in front of me if it weren’t for your spell.”

“I knew what to do only because I went through it once before, with you.” replied the demon, bringing the other closer to him in their embrace. “You went through the same, although only for a few hours, that’s the only reason why I knew which spell to use to keep him alive.”

The raven softly smiled, but didn’t have the strength to reply anymore. Kai was right, he was exhausted, he actually was exhausting himself.

“Just sleep, I’ll wake you up when I leave.” whispered the brunet in his lover’s ear, seeing how the other was forcing himself to stay awake right now.

“Don’t forget this time.” mumbled the raven, closing his eyes.

The incubus chuckled before pecking the other on the lips, knowing that if he did anything else, he would only weaken Aoi more, and eventually kill him.

“I won’t.” he replied, closing his eyes too.

No matter how pissed and worried he could get because of the other’s carefree nature, he still loved him deeply, something the brunet never thought would ever happen to someone of his species, especially to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This most likely is the only Kaoi chapter this fanfic will ever have, and... Sorry it didn't involve smut for those who wanted it. XD  
> Who do you think Kai is? And what is his relation with the high priestess?  
> And why would Aoi want Takanori to suffer?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

The brunet stared blankly at the ceiling, lying on the couch in the living room, ignoring the television displaying some random, uninteresting show. It was already late in the afternoon and Akira had to leave, something both of them wished could be avoided, but he had to deal with things in town that both of them had agreed on earlier. However the bleached-blond witch was still reluctant to leave, he didn’t want Takanori to be alone with Kouyou, and the small brunet was scared of being around his ex-boyfriend. He really had no idea what to expect from the honey blond. Akira had told him that Kouyou was thinking things through, but Takanori had no idea what he meant by that.

He closed his eyes and threw his right arm over his face, heaving a sigh.

Those two weren’t best friends for nothing. Even though Akira held some grudge against Kouyou’s family, they were really similar. They always said things that left other people confused. The brunet didn’t know if they did that on purpose though, but it still happened a lot, like it had a bit earlier with Akira saying that the honey blond was thinking.

Takanori shook his head, laughing bitterly.

“Don’t torture yourself even more.” he whispered, face palming.

The brunet didn’t hear the slow footsteps coming from behind him.

“Are you okay?”

He startled at the unexpected question and sat up, turning around at the same time. Kouyou was standing in the doorframe between the kitchen and the living room, leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest. The honey blond softly chuckled, the sound making shivers ran down Takanori’s spine.

“Where were you right now?” he asked, smiling softly.

The brunet shook his head, blinking a few times before looking at his ex-lover again, locking eyes with him. A lump formed in his throat, he tried to inhale some air to relax, but he felt like he couldn’t even properly breathe. What was up with him? Why did Kouyou look so charming in Takanori’s eyes? Was it because of the smile? It had been so long since he had seen the honey blond genuinely smile.

“I thought we could order something to eat, there’s nothing to cook in the kitchen so…” the honey blond trailed off, taking a few steps forward.

“Sure, that’s a good idea.” replied the brunet, standing up, shying away. “I’ll order something, you can just…” he looked around, scrunching up his nose. “Watch something on tv.” he ended, walking out of the living room to get his bag in the master bedroom, which was more his than Kai and Aoi’s in the end.

Kouyou stared at the other’s little figure as he disappeared in another room. Takanori’s behaviour reminded him of how he used to be in the beginning of their relationship, and even earlier. The brunet had always been quite shy around him before they started dating, it was only after a few months that he had begun to open up to the honey blond.

The memory of the shy, fifteen-year-old Takanori made Kouyou’s smile widen, but it quickly vanished when those memories were clouded with what the honey blond had done afterwards, he really had ruined their relationship.

He sat on the couch and tilted his head back, running a hand over his face.

Takanori had been nothing but good to him, he had always been there for him, always had given him what he wanted, not complaining even once. The brunet had started to resist only recently, a few months ago, but by then it was too late, the honey blond was already too used to getting what he wanted from the small witch to stop himself, even if that meant forcing himself on the other.

He really had broken him, hadn’t he?

“I’m sorry, Taka, I really am.” he murmured, closing his eyes.

The brunet witch stood behind the ajar door, biting his lower lip. This was the first time he heard Kouyou sounding so broken, and it affected him more than he ever thought it would. The honey blond had apologised to Takanori before, but this time it was different. He didn’t apologise because the small witch was standing in front of him, no, this time, he apologised because he must have been thinking about what he had done, and he really realised that what he had done was awfully wrong. Kouyou had no idea the blue-eyed witch was listening, he thought he was alone.

He opened the door and went back to the living room, clutching the hem of his shirt. He stood in front of Kouyou, looking down at him.

“What are you apologising for?” he asked, an eyebrow quirked up.

The honey blond witch opened his eyes and looked up at Takanori. Only then did he notice that the tips of his ex-lover were blond, when had that happened? If he wanted to get back with him, he would have to pay more attention to these details, wouldn’t he? It had never been his strong point, but he would try, if that meant having another chance with him.

“I didn’t think you were listening.” he said, patting the spot next to him for the brunet to sit down.

“I didn’t plan on doing so, but it happened.” sighed Takanori, his eyes moving from where Kouyou’s hand rested on the sofa to his face. “Now, will you answer me?”

He didn’t want to risk sitting next to the honey-blond witch once again, earlier it had led to a hug he hadn’t expected at all, who knew what would happen now if he sat.

Kouyou seemed to notice Takanori’s hesitance to sit as he stopped what he did and sighed.

“You know what I’m apologising for.” he whispered, looking away.

“I want to hear you say it.” retorted the brunet, crossing his arms over his chest.

“What would it change?” frowned the hazel-eyed witch, glancing at the other.

The silence he received in answer made it pretty clear to him that Takanori wouldn’t change his mind on this, which was understandable, somehow. Kouyou slowly stood up as the brunet took a few steps back, hitting his calves on the coffee table. They still were too close to the small witch’s liking, he couldn’t even completely stretch out an arm between them.

“I apologise for _**everything**_.” said Kouyou, his hazel eyes locked with the other’s blue ones.

Takanori stared up at him, finding no hint of a lie in the other’s orbs.

“I apologise for even getting into your life, you wouldn’t have to deal with so much shit if it weren’t for me.” continued the honey blond.

“Why now?” mumbled the brunet, looking down, not being able to stand Kouyou’s intense stare.

The tall witch raised a hand, wanting to touch the other’s cheek in a reassuring gesture, but he noticed the other’s demeanour, he seemed to shrink away from him, as he were scared of being hurt. He continued though, and stroked the other’s cheek, feeling a few tears running down his fingers. Was Takanori trying to move away so Kouyou wouldn’t notice him crying?

“Akira made me think about what I’ve done, and…” he gulped, this was harder to say than one would think. “I realised that I really had been an arse with you. You’ve always been perfect for me, but I didn’t notice it until I’d already lost you.”

Takanori looked up at the honey blond, a bittersweet smile stretching his plump lips, tears still streaming down his face.

“Your best friend had to tell you that you were behaving wrongly to make you think?”

Kouyou cocked an eyebrow, noticing how the small witch’s eyes were gleaming with hurt and anger, his smile not the one of someone who felt relieved or pleased.

“No, I had already thought about it before. It’s just that hearing it from someone else, someone who managed to have you the same I used to, made me think about it more. He knows you better than I do, which actually hurts, and it made me realise how much of a jerk I was.”

The honey blond cupped the other’s face, smiling fondly at him.

“That you broke your seal amazes me, you’ve no idea how much, Taka.”

The brunet frowned.

“You always hated that idea, you’ve always been against it.” groaned Takanori, suspicious.

“Something happened today, after I left your place, and talking with Aki made me understand that maybe it wasn’t that bad to break it.”

The small witch’s eyes widened in shock when he heard that. Had Akira managed to convince Kouyou to break his seal? Had he reached his goal? Never had Takanori thought that he would one day hear Kouyou say that breaking one’s seal was acceptable. He had always been so adamant about it, always sticking to the coven’s idea of the seal being perfect and absolutely needed for the order to be kept.

“It might be the best thing to do for me, too.” sighed the honey blond.

Takanori smirked, feeling like there was something he might be able to do to help Akira get his revenge this time.

“If you do, there might be something waiting for you.” he whispered, forcing the other to lean forward, wrapping his arms around the honey blond’s neck.

Kouyou gaped at the brunet, not sure what was about to happen, until he felt soft, plump lips against his own. He missed their kisses, he thought, as he felt those lips move against his, the feeling being heavenly. However that was gone sooner than he wanted, making him groan in displeasure.

Takanori moved away, swallowing hard. He hadn’t expected to feel that much in just one simple kiss. This was meant to be pure manipulation, it shouldn’t have made him confused about his feelings even more. Even if Kouyou’s apology really had touched him, he still didn’t think he wanted to have anything to do with him anymore. That Kouyou understood how wrong he had behaved was enough for him, and it meant the honey blond would be a better lover to his next partner.

The blue-eyed witch gasped when he was pulled back into a tight embrace and kissed once again, although it felt more needy this time, it wasn’t as soft as the first one.

Turning them around, Kouyou made the brunet lay on the couch, not once breaking their lip lock, trapping the other’s little body under his own.

Takanori’s eyes widened as he felt the other’s lips trail down his jawline to his neck, feeling the oh-so-familiar sting of Kouyou’s teeth biting his skin. He tilted his head back at the mix of pain and pleasure that ran through him. He couldn’t let that happen, could he?

And with this happening, he had completely forgotten about the delivery guy, the both of them not even noticing the bell ringing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah well... What do you want me to say? I still need some Uruki, although this wasn't much, haha.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a native speaker.

“Kouyou…”

His name rolled off the brunet’s tongue in a breathless, long plea while the honey blond’s pace quickened, the small witch arching his back at his forceful, deep thrusts hitting his sweet spot inside of him. Kouyou couldn’t keep himself from smirking when he heard the other moan his name and whine. He had missed this, and he knew nobody would ever be able to replace his little lover.

They had lost track of time and space, drowning themselves in pleasure. The only thing Takanori was sure of was that at some point they had ended up on the ground, how and when, he couldn’t recall, but right now he didn’t mind.

Kouyou had pinned his hands above his head, holding them by the wrists in a strong, bruising grip, while his other hand rested on the brunet’s hip, his nails digging deeper in the small man’s skin at each hard thrust.

The brunet wrapped his legs even more tightly around the other, wanting him to go deeper in him, as well as faster and harder. He could feel heat pooling in his lower stomach, his vision was becoming blurry and his breathing shallow as moans kept on leaving his mouth. He could recall, somehow in his mind fogged with pleasure, that it wouldn’t be the first time he would come that night, nor would it be Uruha’s first for the night either.

“ _ **Kou!**_ ”

The honey-blond witch claimed the other’s kiss-bruised lips when he heard him scream. He had forgotten how vocal the brunet normally was, but now he was clearly reminded of it and he loved it, although that probably wouldn’t be their neighbours’ opinion.

He released Takanori’s wrists and grabbed him by the hips to roll them over, the brunet now being on top of him. He let the small witch ride him, something he usually didn’t let him do before, only on certain occasions, but those were rare.

The blue-eyed witch was surprised by this change of position, but quickly recovered from it and started bouncing on the other’s cock, moaning whorishly this time, wanting to show how this satisfied and pleased him. He always enjoyed riding his lovers, but Kouyou had quite always been the kind of control freak who would never let him do so, unless he begged long enough and let him have his way with him first. Most of the time however, he was too tired to go for another round and would never get what he wanted.

The honey blond observed the brunet with half-lidded eyes, feeling like he would soon reach the edge. Gods, if he had known Takanori’s demeanour would change that much just by letting him ride him, he would have done it earlier. The brunet witch had his head thrown back, his eyes closed and cheeks flushed a deep red. His pretty mouth was slightly open, a small trail of saliva at the corner of his lips. His chest heaved quickly, and the honey blond could perfectly see all the kiss marks he had left on the other’s porcelain skin. The brunet had his hands resting on Kouyou’s knees, bringing him some support as he kept on riding him.

Kouyou’s hands went down to the other’s bottom, cupping both perfectly round cheeks in his hands, as he started to thrust from under, meeting the small man’s thrusts forcefully.

Takanori began stroking himself, smearing pre-cum all over his shaft, feeling like he couldn’t bear the pressure anymore. One particular hard and deep thrust in his protaste as well as one last stroke made his voice reach high notes as he came in his hand, staining Kouyou’s stomach with white spurts.

The brunet’s inner walls squeezing as he came brought the honey blond over the edge too, growling at the back of his throat, the tall witch rolled them over one last time as he rode his orgasm inside of the small man.

They lay on the ground for a few minutes, the time to come down from their high, and then the honey blond slowly sat up, looking at Takanori who seemed to be drifting off. The brunet looked at peace, a small smile curling is full lips, his facial features relaxed. Last time Kouyou had seen him asleep or almost, the brunet was on edge, he was stressed and scared by everything that was going on in his life.

His hazel eyes roamed over the small witch’s body and fell on the brand he had on his right thigh. He had tried as much as possible not to touch it, remembering how Takanori had told Akira that it hurt. But he was curious, it was still slightly red, but slowly it was turning black and he knew it would look like a tattoo when it would be completely healed.

He caressed the brunet’s back, his hand going lower until it reached the mark, but the moment his fingertips brushed past it, he felt like he had gotten an electric shock and Takanori whimpered at the same moment.

His eyes widened when he noticed the small witch’s hair turning blond, his nails growing into claws and his skin getting paler. He didn’t even have the time to wonder what was happening that the now-blond witch was tackling him to the ground, straddling him, hissing at his face, fangs bare for all to see.

“Taka…?” he barely managed to whisper, the air being cut out of his lungs as the small man wrapped his hands around his throat.

His eyes were yellow, his pupils thin and vertical, Kouyou noticed, now that he was face to face with him. What could he possibly be? He had never seen any creature like that, nor read about it.

His lover blinked a few times when he heard his name being called out, and slowly let go of Kouyou.

“I…” he started, but didn’t finish and looked away.

Takanori stood up, hugging his body. He could have killed Kouyou, he knew it, he could feel it. He didn’t understand his own reaction, the honey blond had only touched his brand, why had it made his real appearance come out? And why had it made him react like this?

He turned his back to the other, not wanting him to see the tears flowing down his cheeks. Never had he thought that breaking his seal would turn him into this kind of monster. Akira wasn’t like that, Aoi neither, why was it happening to him? He was slowly grasping what he truly was, but that didn’t explain his reaction.

Arms wrapping themselves around him made him stiffen.

“It’s okay, Taka, I’m fine.” whispered Kouyou in his ear, his fingers drawing circles on his stomach.

“I don’t know what happened, I’m sorry…” he mumbled, looking down.

“Don’t worry.”

He noticed his hands shaking, the honey blond seemingly noticing it too as he grabbed them in his own. He made the blond turn around and kissed both his hands before smiling softly at him.

“Calm down, nothing happened, okay? I was just surprised.”

Takanori locked eyes with the taller witch, and seeing how honest he seemed to be, not scared at all, he decided to believe him. Although he didn’t understand why this had happened.

“Come, let’s go to bed.” said the honey blond, taking him in his arms.

The small witch didn’t even have the time to protest that he was already carried to the master bedroom.

“Maybe you want to sleep alone.” suggested Kouyou once he had laid the other in the king-sized bed.

Takanori looked at the other, at a loss for words. Kouyou had changed so much in just a few hours, and the blond wasn’t sure it was for real. He was scared that it was just a scheme to get back with him, and that afterwards he would just go back to his former self, the one who cheated on his boyfriend shamelessly, who treated him as nothing more but a toy. Yet, right now, he felt safe around the honey-blond witch, something he had come to miss, so maybe, just maybe, he would let him sleep with him this night. After all he already had had sex with him, he had done what he had promised himself not to do, he had given in, but it felt so good…

He faintly smiled at Kouyou and patted the empty spot next to him.

“Sleep with me.” he said.

The honey blond grinned at the other’s answer and joined him in bed.

“Don’t complain if something happens.” snorted the tall witch.

“Kou, I swear I’ve no strength left, don’t even try going for another round.” groaned Takanori, glaring sideways at the other.

“Are you sure?” he replied, smirking.

“Wh–”

The small blond didn’t have the time to question it that his lover had already disappeared under the covers, grabbing his length.

“Oh man… You’re too much to handle…” sighed Takanori, letting his head sink in the pillows as he felt the other's mouth take him. “Weren’t we supposed to sleep?”

“Can always do that in the morning.” came out the muffled answer, and the small blond couldn’t stop himself from giggling.

Maybe he wasn’t really against this kind of relationship anymore…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... I don't even know what to say tbh, haha.  
>  I just hope you enjoyed this.  
> Though, what do you think is happening to Takanori? Why would he react that way all of a sudden?
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated ♡


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